Skin to Skin
by Angelikah
Summary: This whole mate thing was pretty inconvenient, in Caroline's personal opinion. The fact that said mate was Klaus "I tried to kill your best friend for a creepy ritual" Mikaelson made it even worse. As for Klaus, he wasn't exactly pleased that his mate was a defenseless baby vampire. They're understandably reluctant to accept each other. Until they aren't. Twisted Canon Post 3x09.
1. Homecoming

**A/N: If you're on tumblr, you probably know about Klaroline Gives Back, which is a fundraiser for various charities that the Klaroline fandom does. I'm one of the people organizing it, and I promised a short multi-chapter fic to the person that donated the highest. There were two highest donors, so this is the first chapter of the incentive for** **unwillingsuspensionofdisbelief. The other one will be an undercover married Spies AU.**

 **Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

The first time she felt it was when Klaus was making Tyler into a hybrid. At the time she had attributed the prickling of her skin to fear, but now…

Caroline watched with interest as Klaus talked to Tyler in the middle of the yard. The party was in full swing, and she was only absent-mindedly chatting with the girls vying for her attention while she tuned into Klaus and Tyler's conversation.

"Elena and Matt, and your pretty little girlfriend, Caroline…"

The way her name rolled off of his tongue made her skin hum, every inch of her succumbing to that electric current that rolled through her. Her entire body seemed to be tense, waiting, _wanting_... The craving wasn't even sexual, it was just...she wanted touch.

His touch.

She wanted the caress of his thumb against her cheek, his hand against her thigh, and she couldn't help but notice the way his eyes would occasionally dart to look at her, though she'd look away as soon as their eyes met.

The way his lips would quirk in a smirk when he saw that she was watching.

She looked at Tyler, who didn't seem to have noticed the silent interactions taking place right in front of him, instead looking at Klaus intently.

God, she was a _terrible_ girlfriend.

She busied herself with her usual rounds, chatting for a minute or two with every person she recognized (and a few she didn't), before she took a step forward and was colliding with a body that had only appeared when she began to move.

He wasn't much taller than her, and probably wouldn't have been intimidating if the aura of power wasn't rolling off of him in waves. He was inside of her personal space, his smile hinting at the danger wrapped in his handsome skin. She felt herself inhale his scent instinctively, and what hit her senses made warmth bloom in her stomach. Comfort.

"Hello, love. How are you this fine evening?"

She stayed silent, looking at Klaus mutinously. He was hot, had an accent, and smelled _excellent_ , but was still _clearly_ using mind control on her boyfriend (she had a boyfriend!), and as far as she was concerned, that was a perfect reason not to associate with him.

Maybe if she just kept her mouth shut he'd go away.

"Now, love, let's not be rude…"

Apparently, no such luck.

She stubbornly stayed quiet, looking away from him, and she struggled not to flinch when he moved to stroke her cheek. With the first brush of his thumb against her cheekbone, she felt a shiver run through her, his skin hot against hers, just a simple touch igniting something foreign in her, yet so familiar.

"What are you doing to me?" she asked, relieved when her voice didn't shake.

He had pulled his hand away before she finished speaking, and she felt an odd emptiness run through her, though she tried not to show it.

"I'm not doing anything, sweetheart. Whatever you're feeling is all you."

"I'm not feeling anything," she said, and she somehow knew he could tell that she was lying. "I just wanted to know why you were touching me."

"I wanted to," he said honestly, and she felt an odd combination of confusion and anger and _safety_ churn in her stomach, and she tossed her hair as she turned on her heel to walk away.

"Well, don't."

"Noted, sweetheart."

"Good," she muttered before walking away.

Klaus shouldn't be making her feel the way he was. Was it a spell? A curse? Was he trying to play mind games with all of them?

She needed a shower. A cleansing shower.

 **XXX**

He watched Caroline go, the scent of her lingering behind her as she walked away, and once she'd disappeared into the crowd, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned back to Tyler, who was standing next to him.

"Dude, what was that?"

"We were just having a little chat, mate. No need to get testy."

He saw Tyler relax, the sire bond clearly taking its effect at his order. "All right," Tyler said easily.

"You should talk to your guests, mate," Klaus said, gesturing towards the crowd. Tyler nodded and left, leaving Klaus to himself, eventually disappearing with Caroline into the house.

The next few hours were somewhat of a blur, and by the end Klaus was exhausted. Mikael had been killed with the white oak stake, which was obviously a good development, but then he got a call from Stefan saying the other man had stolen the coffins.

This sent Klaus into a rage, fury churning in his stomach, and he was sitting on his leather couch, the rest of the room in ruins, a glass of bourbon in his hand, more to fiddle with than to drink, as he stared into the fireplace.

Caroline hadn't been in on it, he knew, at least judging by Tyler's confession to him earlier that night. His hybrid had been apologetic and upset, and Klaus suspected that he and Caroline had broken up, which was excellent news for him, especially since it would give Caroline more reason to investigate her connection to him without Tyler holding her back from it.

It was clear that Caroline hadn't been given an adequate amount of information on the different breeds of supernatural creatures, or she would have _known_. She was certainly smart enough to figure out that there was something off, judging by her reaction to his touch. However, he doubted that she knew exactly what it was.

He had done an immense amount of research over the years on werewolves. The only way to stay close to his unknown roots was to learn about the history, and he had gone into the curse-breaking ritual knowing that he would have a mate somewhere that he was destined to find.

That he'd found her so soon was something he hadn't expected. He'd thought that he would have years, if not decades, to prepare for her arrival, but it seemed as though he'd been wrong. He was almost glad she had no idea what the connection really was. He hadn't quite processed it himself, after all.

If his research was correct, and he had no reason to suspect it was not, she would bring comfort with her presence, as he would to her. They would crave each other's touch, each other's company, become irritable and restless when they'd gone too long without each other. He would need her, _rely_ on her.

It was a terrifying prospect, to be quite honest.

Caroline was his mate. His other half.

She was _his_.

He stiffened as he heard footsteps coming up the front drive of the mansion, and as if summoned by his thoughts, he instinctively knew that it was Caroline about to knock on his door.

"Hello, love," he said, his voice much calmer than he felt as he stood in the doorway, trying not to smile as she fumed in rage.

"What did you do?"

"I've done many things, sweetheart. If you could be just a tad more specific, that might be helpful."

"Fine. What did you do to _me_?"

He leaned against the doorframe, his hands stuffed in his pockets just to keep from reaching out to touch her. "I haven't a clue what you're on about."

"You're lying to me."

"Perhaps," he said easily.

She didn't seem to expect that answer, her eyebrows raising as she processed that he'd essentially admitted that he was lying to her.

"Okay, no, seriously, what the hell is going on?"

He sighed, deciding he might as well tell her, since it would be horribly inconvenient to have to wait for her to figure it out. He doubted she'd believe him, so it would be best to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

"What do you know about werewolves?"

She frowned. "Why?"

"What do you know?" he repeated, and her eyes narrowed, her arms crossed over her chest as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"The werewolf curse is genetic, and it's activated by killing someone. When you're an untriggered werewolf, you have like, tons of anger issues because your aggression doesn't have anywhere to go, or whatever. Obviously they change at the full moon. That's about it, though. Why?"

"What do you know about mates?" he asked, fighting not to swallow.

It felt oddly vulnerable to ask, as though he was baring a hidden piece of himself that no one knew of, and he barely knew this girl.

And yet, every single fibre of him was itching to touch her, to hold her, to stroke her hair and stroke the soft skin of her waist while she trembled in his arms…

"Like, wolves mating, you mean?" she asked slowly, her tone suspicious. "They're serial monogamists."

"No. Werewolf mating."

"Nope. I only recently found out about this whole supernatural thing, and between not dying, cheerleading practice, and homework, I haven't exactly had the time to study up."

"Well, werewolves mate for life."

"Okay. Good to know," she said slowly. "What does this have to do with anything?"

He could tell that she had the sneaking suspicion of what _exactly_ it had to do with her, but he suspected that she was in denial (and most likely would be for a long while).

"Werewolves don't necessarily mate with other werewolves," he said mildly. "And we don't choose our mates."

"Okay. Extra-fun facts. What's your point?"

"I think you know my point, sweetheart. You're my mate. My soulmate, if you prefer that sort of romanticization of the concept. Two halves of a soul and all that rubbish."

She scoffed. "Soulmates? Seriously? Is that your angle here?"

"It's not an angle, love."

"So you honestly expect me to believe that werewolves have soulmates, and that I'm yours?"

"I couldn't care less whether you believe me or not, but that doesn't make it any less true."

She was silent for a few seconds, her eyes narrowed as she pinned him with a calculating gaze, and he could almost sense that she was having a hundred thoughts a second, her mind racing through the new information, considering the possible truth in it.

"Assuming that this mate thing is...a _thing_ , where would I find information on it?"

"I'd assume that your little witch friend has a grimoire or two that might mention it. You could also search for it on the internet."

"Just say 'Google it'. God, how old are you?" she snapped, seemingly without thinking before her mouth snapped shut with a click.

"1048, and your search engine preference has been noted," he said dryly. "Now, I'm sure you're just itching to do your research, so I'll leave you to it, shall I? Do have a safe walk home."

She glowered at him before turning on her heel to stomp back to her car, no doubt to drive straight to the house of the Bennett witch.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! I'm aiming for weekly updates with this. Please let me know what you thought :)**  
 **Hugs!**  
 **-Angie**


	2. The New Deal

He was right, Caroline realized as she closed the third grimoire a bit more aggressively than necessary, shoving it aside and putting her head in her hands.

She'd lied to Bonnie when she came a week ago to ask for the grimoires, telling her that she was researching mates because of Tyler, even though they'd broken up. She felt bad lying to her best friend, but if she was mated to Klaus, she couldn't let anyone find out.

Well, they couldn't find out _that_ she was mated to Klaus, because it had become abundantly clear as she researched that he had been right, as far as the signs went.

Craving his touch? Check.

Gravitating towards him when he was near her? Check.

Instinctively wanting to seek him out when upset or frustrated? Check.

Wallowing in self-hatred for being mated to a sadistic murderer? Not a symptom, but still present.

And Tyler…

She'd been dodging his calls for the last few days since she'd stumbled on the first promising passage, and she hadn't had the courage to call him. She still loved Tyler, she knew, but he was sired to Klaus, who she was definitely trying to avoid for the moment.

Despite the mate bond, she wasn't even _close_ to loving Klaus (or even close to finding him tolerable), and a part of her was clinging to Tyler just because he was what she knew. He was comfortable.

But how was he supposed to compete with some stupid magical bond?

Did she even want him to?

Yes, she decided. She did.

None of the grimoires had mentioned anything about emotional ties or sex. Being mated wouldn't build an emotional bond unless they let it, and no matter how attractive the idea was of having a soulmate, someone she could count on, who would need her no matter what, was, she also didn't want to let some ancient magic bond run her life.

Especially when the mate chosen for her by said ancient magic bond was _Klaus_.

It was settled then, she decided as she stacked the grimoires neatly beside her and pushed herself off of Bonnie's couch, stretching. She would help Tyler find a way to break the sire bond, and she could just ignore this supernatural soulmate bullshit. She had _excellent_ self-control.

And there was no need to wallow in self-hatred when she could just ignore the mate bond, pretended it didn't exist.

Unfortunately, it was difficult when she felt a constant prickling of her skin, an almost overwhelming need to go to Klaus, even for just the barest touch of his hand on her arm. She could almost _feel_ the warmth of his skin against hers, and she craved it.

She bit her lip scanning the room full of grimoires for something that looked even slightly helpful for breaking the sire bond. She looked at the grimoires next to her and picked the first one up, deciding to re-read it, hoping for something sire-bond related.

It was her new project, she decided. She'd help Tyler break the bond and everything would work itself out.

Okay, probably not, but she wasn't going to let it go without giving it the ultimate Caroline Forbes 110% Effort.

 **XXX**

Klaus had been feeling the prickling urge of his skin all day. After he'd broken the curse, he hadn't met Caroline until he made Tyler a hybrid, which was months later. However, now that he had met her, it was starting to get uncomfortable to function without feeling her touch for a week.

Just the brush of his thumb across her cheek at the party had been enough to soothe him, but enough time had passed for him to become restless again, his need for her moving to the forefront of his mind.

He shifted as he stared into the fire, trying not to think about how _his_ mate was undoubtedly rolling around in bed with his hybrid. He had assigned another hybrid for her protection, and he knew that she'd gone to research the bond at the Bennett witch's house, and that she'd found the information she needed.

It was only a matter of time until she grew bored of Tyler, that he was sure of. Though the bond did not manufacture feelings, the sense of touch between mates was much stronger, and once she'd given in, once she'd let him stroke her skin until she was a quivering mess in his arms, she'd never want to leave.

He could wait.

It might take another week or so for the lack of touch to become unbearable, but she'd seek him out. He'd just have to stop himself from going to her first. It would be easier for her to accept the bond if she was the one to initiate.

He sighed, setting down his glass and walking up the stairs to one of his studios. He had different set-ups for different moods, and this time he wanted the one that was all dark paneled wood and burgundy curtains, the carpet soft beneath his feet as he painted. He prepared the canvas on autopilot, contemplating what his life had come to.

To be frank, he'd been hoping that his mate was someone a bit more...indestructible. Caroline was intriguing. She was smart, beautiful, compassionate...and still so very human in her thinking. So physically fragile in the grand scheme of things, yet admittedly quite strong-minded. What if she was used against him? Could he handle that?

He would have to, he realized.  
Klaus had an odd pull in his stomach as he realized that he'd honestly like to talk to Elijah about this. Despite his brother's (admittedly understandable) anger, Elijah would never hurt someone that he viewed as a tool for Klaus's redemption, as far-fetched as it was. Unfortunately, The younger Salvatore had the coffins containing his family, and he needed them back.

He'd already told Stefan that he would kill everyone that he'd ever loved if the coffins weren't returned to him, but perhaps a bit more motivation was in order.

He washed his hands and reached for his phone, dialing Stefan's number and waiting for the other man to pick up. Unfortunately the phone kept ringing, and Klaus hung up, grabbing his jacket and walking down to the grill to find Damon, who was no doubt drinking the day away.

He was unsurprised that he was right, and he sat down at the bar next to Damon. "Damon."

"Klaus," Damon greeted sullenly.

"So, I'm having a bit of a problem, and I think you can help me solve it."

"How about no?"

"Ah, that answer's not going to work for me. You see, your brother has stolen something very precious to me, and I'd like it back."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll kill everyone in this town."

"The only person I care about is Elena, and you need her to make your hybrids, so excuse me if I don't believe you."

"Ah yes, the lovely Elena. You know, funny thing about her life...Yes, I have to keep _her_ alive, but it's not as though she doesn't have people she cares about. And how will she feel if you sacrifice them all for Stefan, who, as I recall, isn't exactly in peak White Knight form at the moment."

Damon knocked back the rest of his bourbon, and Klaus nearly winced. What a waste.

"Fine," Damon growled, setting the glass down. "I'll find him. Out of curiosity, what does he have that's so important?"

"You'll have to ask him," Klaus said, standing up and throwing some money on the counter for Caroline's quarterback friend, despite not having ordered anything.

He hoped she appreciated the gesture.

Just minutes after he'd arrived back at his house, he received a call from the Ripper, who informed him that the coffins were safe, but he wasn't getting them back until a few demands were met.

Klaus couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. As if he would cave to the Ripper's demands. It just didn't work that way.

He called a hybrid as soon as he hung up, demanding they go investigate where he suspected the coffins would be, and to update him in two hours before beginning a new painting. When the call didn't come, he investigated and found that his hybrid had been killed.

It was time to threaten them, he decided.

Unfortunately, he had a feeling that any ground he had gained with Caroline, as small as it was, would be lost if he threatened any of her friends, which left him with a bit of a dilemma. He sat on his couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table as he considered his options, and decided that, as unpalatable as it was, he'd have to use her.

She had a rather inconvenient amount of loyalty to her friends (though he wouldn't mind her loyalty to him), and he had a feeling that attacking her would be much more easily forgiven.

It was a pity that she didn't see her own value. They'd have to work on that.

A plan hatched in his mind, one that would not only solve the issue with the Ripper, but would also solve their touching situation.

He called Tyler to the mansion, and his hybrid obediently showed up within ten minutes.

"Your friends are an inconvenient thorn in my side, and Stefan seems to think he can blackmail me," he said, picking some dirt out from under his fingernails. "I'm going to need you to take care of that little problem."

"How?"

"Bite Caroline."

"What? No, I can't do that."

"Yes, actually. You can, and you will. See to it that it happens by tonight, would you? You may go."

"I can't bite her. I love her."

"I believe I told you to go," Klaus said, turning back to look at the fire again, his hands clasped behind his back.

He heard Tyler leave, and he mentally calculated how much time it would take for the plan to be set in motion.

 **XXX**

"Can I talk to you for a sec? It's kind of important."

Caroline smiled shyly, nodding, following him before Matt could attack him, grabbing his arm and pulling him outside.

"What?"

"I take back everything I said this morning. Klaus can't control me, at least not when it comes to you."

"You know, maybe we're just not meant to be together. Maybe we just have to accept that and move on," Caroline said slowly, trying to convince herself of the words. This whole mate thing...it could only hurt them both. God, she wanted to believe that she and Tyler couldn't be together so much, just because she felt like it would be easier.

She felt her heart swell as Tyler talked though, telling her how he missed her, how he had a plan to break the sire bond…

How he loved her.

It was everything she'd been waiting to hear for weeks. Months, even. She felt like she was about to cry, fingering the charm bracelet she hadn't been able to resist wearing, and she gave him a huge smile before he kissed her, cupping her cheek.

She waited for the spark, the normal feeling of her skin prickling, the warmth that built inside of her, the arousal that would ache from just the brush of his lips against hers...But it didn't come.

She responded more fervently, her arms around his neck as she kissed him back, pressing herself against his body, moaning softly when his mouth moved to her neck.

She felt a sting before her skin ripped, a consistent, thumping stab of pain spreading down the skin of her neck, running through her veins.

"Ouch, what the hell?" she asked, pushing him away, clutching her neck, and he looked horrified, his eyes wide. "What just happened?"

"Oh no," he breathed, and she felt panic and fear well up inside of her.

Betrayal.

"Did you just...did you just _bite_ me?"

"Oh my god," Tyler said frantically. "I'm so sorry."

"Oh my god," she said again, her voice high-pitched as she felt the burn of the venom underneath her skin. She felt the world close in around her, vaguely hearing Tyler calling her name as she screamed for him to get away, her breathing labored.

The world went black.


	3. Our Town

Just a quick note: Caroline is a vampire in this fic. It begins right after Tyler becomes a hybrid, which means that everything is canon up until that point. I know there was some confusion for a few people with the last chapter, and I changed the wording in the sentence to make it work a bit better.

Thank you to Sophie for beta work (as usual). I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Klaus was pacing just inside of the mansion door, checking the clock. By now, Tyler should have completed his task, and all he had to do was wait for the boy to come back and report.

Sure enough, Tyler slammed his fist against the door a few times, and Klaus smirked, opening it.

"How'd it go, mate?"

"Save her. Please," Tyler said quietly, and Klaus grinned.

"Now, why would I do that?"

Every inch of him was screaming for him to go to Caroline. To his mate.

He couldn't, though. He had to wait until Stefan promised to hand over the coffins. There was no need for them to know he was bluffing.

The only person that had even a chance of figuring it out was Caroline, but he imagined that she was in no state to tell. He felt his heart drop into his stomach at the thought.

She was slowly dying, the venom sucking the borrowed life from her body, and he needed Tyler to get Stefan to agree to his terms before he was able to go to her.

"Yes, I'll do it, okay? Anything. Just please save her."

"Call him," Klaus ordered.

Klaus gave Tyler a smirk when the boy hung up the phone less than five minutes later before speeding off to Caroline's house, unable to accept even the thought of wasting another second.

When he arrived at the front door, he adopted a casual pose and knocked, giving the quarterback a serious look as he opened the door. "Tyler came to see me. Poor boy, he seemed quite distressed. He said Caroline had a…terrible accident."

"You made him do this to her," Matt said, his voice ice, eyes narrowed. "He would never have done something like this."

"I'm here to help, Matt," he said quietly, and soon enough he'd been invited in, walking up the stairs to Caroline's bedroom at a frustratingly slow pace.

He closed the door behind him and Caroline opened her eyes to glare at him.

"Hello, Caroline," he said, his voice strained.

She was pale, her lips dry and cracked, and she looked weak.

Helpless.

He didn't like it.

It was a long-forgotten feeling of protectiveness, possessiveness, the guilt of his actions washing over him, but he just clenched his hands, stuffing them in his pockets as he scanned the room, noting the various trophies and stuffed animals scattered on the shelves.

She took a shaky breath, her body twitching, and he realized that she was fighting the urge to touch him as well. He hoped she'd make the first move, hoped that his weakness for her wouldn't show.

Though it was possible, he realized, that she wasn't strong enough to move.

She still hadn't said anything, just watching him with those annoyingly perceptive eyes.

"Why?" she asked, and he flinched at how dry her voice was, how hurt she sounded.

"It's nothing personal, sweetheart."

"Nothing-Nothing personal? Are you serious right now?" she asked, her voice cracking as the disbelief in her tone bled through. "How could you do this to me? I'm _dying_."

"Your friends needed to be taught a lesson."

"Why? What could possibly justify this? Hint: Nothing."

He fought the absurd urge to laugh, and she glared at him before coughing quietly.

"I figured that you wouldn't exactly be...appreciative of me using your friends as tools."

"So you used me?" she asked, still clearly irritated. "Because that's _so_ much better?"

"Well, is there a friend that I could have used that you wouldn't have missed? My entire goal was to accomplish what needed to be done while hurting you as little as possible."

"Oh my god, there are so many things wrong with that statement that I don't even know where to start," she spat.

"Well, you have to start somewhere, love."

"Okay, first of all, this is not how you get things done. Attempted murder is never okay," she said, and he was vaguely amused to see that her hands twitched as though she was trying to tick off her points on her fingers.

His body was still stiff from resisting the urge to touch her, and he realized that she wasn't going to cave first. Even if she could, he suspected she could hold out longer than him. That was honestly terrifying.

And she was still talking, he realized, tuning back into her speech.

"-would be a good person to use. I doubt the world would be any worse off. Actually, we'd probably be better off without Damon, so feel free. Number three, what exactly do you expect for honoring my wishes for my friends to stay safe by trying to kill me _knowing you'll save me?_ Like, do you want a gold star for being slightly less of an asshole?"

He was tempted to say 'yes' just to see how she'd respond, also making a note that Damon was clearly one of Caroline's least favorite people, but the burn of his skin was becoming too much, and he walked to her, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"And one more thing–"

He bit his wrist and shoved it to her mouth before she could finish her sentence, unable to wait any longer. Before he realized what was going on, he was sitting against the pillows with her practically in his lap while she drank, and she was moaning softly as he stroked her hair.

He pulled his arm away from her mouth, seeing her hazy, dark eyes in the mirror on the wall, and she seemed to instinctively curl up against him, her thin tank top and his henley the only thing separating his chest from her back.

In the haze of need from blood sharing he almost ripped them instinctively, but managed to hold himself back, instead hitching the tank top up slightly to wrap an arm around her bare stomach and pulling her back snugly against his front, burying his nose in her hair.

His entire body relaxed, the frustration and anger flooding out of him, and he felt her go limp in his arms, her breathing even.

"I hate this," she said quietly.

"Me too," he said honestly. "Do you think you're alone in this, Caroline?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, turning in his arms to glare at him, her legs naturally settling on either side of his hips. "Am I inconveniencing you with my existence?"

"Yes, actually," he said, his tone biting. "You are. Sadistic murderer I may be, and perhaps that isn't up to your moral standard, but _you_ are a baby vampire with no way to defend yourself, barely able to survive, and I _need_ you, so of course it's inconvenient."

Hurt flashed across her face, and he immediately felt guilty, grabbing her wrists to hold her to him. "I–"

"Caroline, I understand that this is difficult for you," he said, trying to be patient. "However, you're not the only one affected by this."

"Are you seriously making this about you right now?" she demanded, struggling enough that he let go of her wrists. "Sure, this isn't _only_ about me, but I think it has a pretty significant effect on my life, thank you. All my friends hate you. If they find out about this, they'll hate me too."

"They don't sound like very good friends, then," he pointed out, in what seemed to him to be a perfectly logical move, but apparently it was the wrong thing to say, because Caroline swelled in fury, her teeth gritted.

"And what exactly do you know about being friends with people?" she demanded, waving her arms in the air as she talked, clearly still not aware that she was straddling him.

"Not much," he said, his hands falling on her hips, admittedly trying to see how much he could get away with. She didn't appear to notice, however, and kept talking.

"I just...Look, this is really hard, okay? I only found out about werewolves like, four months ago, and you basically turned my boyfriend into a slave, and you're just...you're a terrible person. I hate that I apparently need you, okay? I hate the stupid magic bond thing, and I just _hate this_. Like, of course the _one time_ something doesn't happen to Elena, it's being the soulmate of a psychopath."

He involuntarily made a face at the mention of Elena, and she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And you aren't even denying that you're a psychopath!"

"Would you believe me if I did?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, his thumb sneaking under the hem of her top to stroke her skin.

This apparently was the last straw, because she stiffened, grabbing his wrist before rolling off of him, scrambling to the other end of the bed. "You should leave."

 **XXX**

Caroline watched as Klaus left, his hands in his pockets, and tried to calm her breathing. She had to find a way for Tyler to break the sire bond, and she had to find it fast.

She laid back on her bed, utterly exhausted, and closed her eyes.

She vaguely recognized Klaus's scent on her pillow, and she couldn't help but pull it closer to her, burying her face in it before falling asleep.

When she woke, she yawned, feeling her neck where the bite was, satisfied when she found smooth skin. She spied a velvet box on her night table and narrowed her eyes suspiciously, pulling it towards her.

It was a beautiful bracelet, the card accompanying it simple, just wishing her a happy birthday with Klaus's signature at the bottom.

If this was his idea of an apology, it wasn't a good one, she decided, stuffing the bracelet back in the box and shoving it into the drawer of her side table before getting up.

She walked to the kitchen, eating some cereal and turning on the television, and she paused when there was a knock on the door.

Frowning, wondering who could be coming at eight in the morning, she opened it in her pajamas, her lips pressing together in anger when she saw Tyler.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize."

"Apologize? You bit me. I could've _died_. I think we're way past apologies, Tyler."

"That's the problem. Klaus told me to do it and I said no. And then...just happened anyway. Like, it was completely out of my control. That's why I had your mom call him."

"Who?" Caroline asked, and Tyler stood aside to reveal her father.

"Daddy?" she breathed, her eyes wide.

"Hi, Caroline."

"I thought, since he can resist compulsion, maybe he could teach me to resist the sire bond."

It was a good idea, she had to admit, but seeing her dad again...

When her mom had found out that Caroline was a vampire, she'd simply treated her like a monster, like she wasn't her child anymore. Her father's reaction was almost worse. He'd tortured her, tried to get her to associate blood with pain, was _disappointed_ in her. Though she only went to see her father for a week or two every summer, he was still an important part of her life. He'd believed in her, encouraged her to pursue things she loved…

They used to have a phone call once a week, and he'd tell her how proud he was of her grades or how she'd been made cheerleading captain or any number of accomplishments. He'd promised to take her to New York that summer for her straight As and becoming a Cheerleading captain as a junior (which was practically unheard of).

And then he hadn't.

She'd stayed in Mystic Falls, which was exactly the place she didn't want to be, and he'd stayed in Georgia with his new family, ignoring her existence.

Even after he'd tortured her, after he'd tried to "fix" her, his lack of contact had _hurt_. Sure, her mom wasn't around often, but she'd always been able to count on her dad to listen to her problems or help her make decisions, and he was just...gone.

"Can you help him?" she asked, realizing she'd been silent for too long.

"Well, I'm going to try," Bill said calmly. "Can we come in?"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, of course," Caroline said, quickly moving aside and closing the door behind her father and Tyler when they entered.

On one hand, this could be helpful, she realized. If her dad could help Tyler with the sire bond, that meant that he probably knew about werewolves...Which meant he could tell her how to break the bond, or at least get around it.

But what if, in the process of her asking questions, he found out she was mated to Klaus? What would he do?

* * *

Thank you for reading! Did you think the bedroom scene worked? Are you excited to see Bill and Caroline interact? What do you think is going to happen with Caroline and Tyler? Are you satisfied with Klaus's level of evil? I'd love to hear your thoughts :D

Catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie and on twitter at AngieWritesKC

Hugs!  
-Angie


	4. The Ties That Bind

Thank you so much for your response to the last chapter! There was some confusion about whether Caroline was human, so I just wanted to re-state that Caroline is a vampire at this point. Remember, this fic runs parallel to Season 3 starting at Homecoming (3x09), so it is completely canon-compliant up until then. I hope that helps explain some things :)  
Thank you to my wifey, ckhybrid, for beta work :)

Enjoy!  
-Angie

* * *

"It's...It's nice to see you," she said awkwardly, fully aware that her father probably was not the least bit happy to see her.

Therefore, she was understandably surprised when he pulled her into a semi-awkward hug.

She patted him on the back, pulling away and clearing her throat, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"How's my baby girl?"

"I'm…" she started, trailing off, because what the hell was she supposed to say? Her eyes darted to Tyler, who was standing in the living room, looking at the ground, his feet shuffling against the carpet.

"Everything's been...busy," she said, deciding to be vague. "You?"

"Lots of work," he said, patting her on the shoulder, and she shifted uncomfortably.

"How long do you think you'll be staying?"

"Until I can help Tyler break the sire bond," he said immediately. "Being sired to a sadistic killer doesn't exactly make him boyfriend material, sweetie."

"Okay," she said hesitantly. "And how long will that take?"

 _Will you be here long enough to notice I go to see Klaus?_

"As long as it takes for me to stop being grateful to Klaus," Tyler said quietly.

"Okay, and how are we going to do this?"

"'We' aren't doing anything, Caroline," Tyler interrupted. "Werewolf bites can kill you."

"Really? I didn't know that," Caroline shot back sarcastically, and Tyler ran a hand through his hair, wincing.

"Look, I don't want you to be in danger."

"And I want to be there," Caroline said, knowing she was being stubborn and not particularly caring.

"Caroline can come if she wants to," Bill cut in firmly. "Thank you for the ride from the airport, Tyler. I appreciate it. I'm going to get my bags to unpack, and I'd like to spend some time with my daughter."

Tyler bristled at the abrupt dismissal, but nodded. He twitched as though he wanted to reach for Caroline, and she rolled her eyes, pulling him into a hug. It wasn't like he was going to bite her again. Even if he did, Klaus would save her, she had no doubt of that.

"I'll see you later," she said quietly, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Later."

He left, and Bill went to get his suitcase, coming back and shutting the door behind him. "So. What have you been busy with? I hear that the squad is doing well."

"Are you seriously going to act like everything's normal?" Caroline asked, and Bill smiled slightly.

"Well, if I didn't it wouldn't change anything. Sometimes life works in mysterious ways."

Caroline rolled her eyes at her dad's mysticism bullshit. "You know, saying really vague things about the universe doesn't make you deep, Dad."

"So. Busy?" he prompted.

"Yeah. The squad's doing well. Also busy with school and stuff. You know, same old," she said with what she hoped was a winning smile.

He didn't seem to believe her, though, setting his suitcase down on the bed in the guest room and sitting on the bed, motioning for Caroline to join him.

"Something's on your mind, sweetie. I can always tell."

She just nodded, not bothering to deny it. "Yeah. I've...I've been doing some research about werewolves. You know, because of Tyler. And stuff."

"And stuff?"

"What do you know about werewolves? Like, other than the anger issues and the whole full moon thing?"

"Wolfsbane is painful to them," he said after thinking for a few seconds. "They tend to travel in packs, more for protection than out of instinct, as far as I know."

"Anything else?"

"What are you really asking, Caroline?"

"What do you know about werewolf mates?"

He gave her a knowing smile, one that made her insides squirm as if her dad was reading her mind. "Don't romanticize the concept too much, sweetie. Tyler's a good kid, but if you were his mate, you'd know."

"Just tell me."

"There's a very intense physical connection," he said slowly. "According to my research, werewolves have an innate need to be with their mate once they find them, and if they're not, they crave it until they can't resist the pull anymore."

"What happens if they do?"

"They go mad," Bill said simply, and Caroline felt her insides turn to ice. "Almost never happens, though. The pull is much too strong."

"What if your mate dies?" Caroline asked hesitantly.

"Is there something I should know, Caroline?"

"I'm just curious," she said quickly, and he gave her a calculating glance, but didn't comment, simply continuing with his explanation.

"Well, they lose all the cravings for the mate they had, but they also feel...empty. To be truthful, judging from the accounts I've heard of werewolves who lost their mates early, I'd probably rather be dead."

"Oh," Caroline said quietly.

Well, at least Klaus wouldn't kill her, though she wouldn't put it past someone to kill her for revenge (and wasn't that a scary thought).

"Come on, I'll make some breakfast and you can tell me all about that trophy from Regionals I saw in the front bookshelf," her father said, and she followed him downstairs to the kitchen, honestly a bit relieved to talk about something normal.

They chatted as he made pancakes, her cereal forgotten on the kitchen counter, her mind occupied with the new information about Klaus.

 **XXX**

Klaus put his feet up on the coffee table in his sitting room and held the phone to his ear, waiting for his hybrid to pick up. Once he'd saved Caroline and tracked down Stefan, the other vampire had ever-so-helpfully (and smugly) told him that he would give the coffins back if Klaus could _find_ them.

He knew the Ripper wasn't going to tell him where the coffins containing his siblings were, but he had an inkling that the little witch knew, and he was willing to take advantage of that. The girl was on her way with the doppelganger to get her mother's help with the coffins now, and if his hybrid could beat her there, it would be easy enough to compel and threaten Abby and her adoptive son to help him get the information he needed.

"Hello?"

"Hey, mate. I'm going to need you to do me a favor."

"What do you need?" the hybrid said, and Klaus let a small smirk spread across his face at how enthusiastic Dean sounded.

"I'll text you the address of a witch, Abby Bennett. I need you to go to her house and compel her son to kill himself unless she can make her daughter tell her where my coffins are. Once the girl breaks, have her call me with the location. Compel the witch's son to not harm the doppelganger and to keep her distracted."

"Got it," the hybrid said, and Klaus hung up the phone, sitting back to wait.

He wondered what Caroline was doing. He had been much calmer since he left her room the night before. Stefan had quite honestly been lucky that Klaus had just been to see Caroline when they talked, because otherwise, no matter how important the Ripper was in his long-term plan, Klaus would have crushed the vampire's heart under his shoe.

He had a tracker on Tyler's phone, and knew the boy had gone to the airport, and through further investigation had found that he'd gone to pick up William Forbes, Caroline's father (and renowned vampire hunter).

That could turn nasty.

 **XXX**

"I can't," Tyler panted on all fours as he attempted to transform.

"Try harder," Bill said, no sympathy in his eyes.

Caroline stood up. "Can't he just rest for one second?"

"We're doing this my way, Caroline. If you can't handle it, you should go," he snapped, and she tried not to let the hurt show on her face.

"He's right Caroline, just go."

"What? Tyler," Caroline started, but he interrupted before she could say that she was staying.

"Go, Caroline."

She looked at him in surprise, but he turned away, not meeting her eyes, and Caroline shot a reproachful glance at her father before walking away, tears pricking at her eyes. She couldn't believe that they would just dismiss her like that, and she tried to hold back tears as she walked, trying to calm her anger at being cast aside.

Though she'd meant to walk home, she found herself arriving at the front door of Klaus's mansion. She almost turned back, almost left, but she felt the unease creep under her skin, the need to be comforted almost overpowering her, and she grasped the doorknob, taking a deep breath, and pushed.

The front hall was as lavish as she remembered, and she walked up the steps to the second floor, her fingers brushing against the smooth wood of the railing, not quite knowing where she was headed.

She could faintly detect his scent in the air and followed the trail to a room down the hall. The door was slightly ajar, and she knocked, pushing the door wider.

The room was empty, and Caroline couldn't quash her curiosity enough to stay in the hallway. It was obviously his bedroom, she realized, closing the door behind her. The bed was huge, the wooden frame dark, and there was a desk in the corner with a hardbacked chair, the surface cluttered with papers and expensive-looking bottles of alcohol, gleaming crystal glasses beside them.

For some reason, just being in the room was comforting in a way, and she sank down onto his bed, her legs crossed at the ankle, thinking about what had just happened. Tyler was breaking the sire bond so that he could be with her, but the more Caroline thought about it, the worse she felt.

Obviously, she wanted Tyler to break the sire bond. That wasn't the problem. It was just...how could she ask him to put himself through that much pain when the night before had proved how much she needed Klaus?

It wasn't fair to him for her to continue their relationship while she was so clearly attached to Klaus. She wanted to be with Tyler so badly, wanted to give the stupid magical bond the middle finger and stay with him, but she couldn't deny the way she'd felt (or _hadn't_ felt) earlier that day.

She still felt emotionally attached to him, still cared for him, but the rush of anticipation wasn't there. The spark, the passion, the need for his skin against hers...those were gone.

She loved Tyler, wanted him to be happy, but was it romantic love? Or did she just care about him as a friend, the way she did for Elena or Bonnie?

They had to end it, she realized, feeling sick to her stomach.

Then there was Klaus. She _hated_ him, and from last night, she figured out that he wasn't all that fond of her either. Well, maybe he was fond of her, but he certainly found his feelings, and her, to be "inconvenient."

Ass.

She rolled onto her stomach and reached for her purse, pulling it onto the bed and grabbing her notebook, a pen, and her emergency highlighters. Flipping the notebook to a blank page, she carefully drew a week-long schedule, labeling seven columns for the days of the week, and filled in her schedule. She had cheerleading practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:30-5:30. She had girls' night with Elena and Bonnie on Fridays around 8:00. She added probable amounts of homework to each day before pulling out a pink highlighter and uncapping it.

From the past two weeks, she'd gathered that the bond got worse as time went on without touching each other. It was almost unbearable after a week of separation, but had only become truly uncomfortable after about four days of no contact. Therefore, to decrease chances of going crazy, it would probably be best to see each other every two or three days, she decided.

Caroline felt better when she had a project, and she tried to find the parts of her schedule where she'd most easily be able to slip away without anyone noticing for fifteen minutes or so. She'd go off to Klaus to get a quick hug, or whatever, and then come back, and no one would be any the wiser. She highlighted the best times for her in pink.

She and Klaus would have to talk about his schedule so that she could make sure those times worked for him, but it wasn't like he had school or work or anything.

What did he do all day, anyway? Watch YouTube clips of how to torture kittens? Did he have a DIY Murderboard on Pinterest?

Caroline was exhausted once she'd finished the schedule, and she shed her jacket and toed off her boots, dropping her supplies back in her purse and flopping back to lie down on his comforter. Yeah, it was probably an invasion of his space or privacy or whatever, but if this psychopath was her mate, and she'd go crazy without being near him every now and then (and she was going to make sure they did that as little as possible, thank you), the least he could do was let her use his bedroom for a little while.

Though as she curled up under his blankets, her face buried in his pillow, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

 **XXX**

"Please, show me the coffins," Klaus said calmly, the pain from the dead witches' aneurysms rapidly fading.

The elder Salvatore was beside him, looking a lot less smug now that the witches had stopped causing Klaus large amounts of pain, and there was a rush of wind before the coffins appeared, seemingly out of thin air. Klaus grinned.

"There we are..." he said, before freezing. "Where's the fourth?"

Damon just gave him a small smile, and Klaus rolled his eyes, trying to find some patience.

He could see why this one was Caroline's least favorite.

"Show me," he ordered, glaring at the ceiling, in what he supposed must be the general direction of the witch spirits.

"Well," Damon said, shifting uncomfortably, though Klaus could tell it was merely for show. The other vampire was clearly enjoying his leverage as an opportunity to be a smart-arse, and Klaus tried not to kill him. "Uh, here's the thing. They can't. It's not here."

"What did you do?" Klaus asked, his voice deadly calm, walking towards Damon.

"Well, Bonnie gave me the head's up. I didn't have enough time to move all four of them, but I did have time to get one."

Honestly, Klaus thought, he should just rip out the other man's heart for the smug smirk on his face. Did he not understand the gravity of the situation? Was he honestly stupid enough to think that he'd be alive at the end of this?

There was no doubt in his mind that Damon would have taken the sealed one. It would have been stupid not to, although perhaps he was giving Damon a bit too much credit.

"I will tear you limb from limb," he said quietly, invading the other man's personal space. "And only then, when you're a writhing mess of blood and flesh, will I rip your heart from your chest."

"Sorry. Same rules apply. Leverage and all. I know you want your family back, but something tells me you want the sealed coffin a lot more."

Damon left, and Klaus made a quick call to a hybrid to get the coffins moved as he plotted how he'd get his mother's coffin back from the Salvatores'.

They clearly thought they had one up on him, but did they honestly think, after a thousand years, that he wouldn't have some kind of contingency plan for this situation?

Idiots.

 **XXX**

Caroline woke to a stabbing pain in her abdomen.

"Who are you?" a voice snarled, one she vaguely recognized.

She opened her eyes, crying out in pain, to see a tall man in a suit, his eyes black, veins protruding from his cheeks in anger. "Caroline," she gasped out. "Who are you?"

He ignored the question, his hand still curled tightly around one of her organs (Caroline wasn't quite sure which one).

"Why are you here?"

She rushed through her options. On the one hand, being Klaus's mate would probably make her extra-attractive to those looking to get revenge. On the other, killing her would probably sign a death sentence, considering the consequences of it, and no one would want that.

"Who are you?" she asked again, trying to stall. "Just tell me, and I'll tell you why I'm here."

The man's lip curled slightly in an indulgent smile, though he still looked angry. "Elijah."

"Klaus's brother?" she asked, almost sure now that she was about to cough up blood (ew!).

"Yes. Now, what are you doing here, Caroline?"

She knew very little of Elijah. Only that he was absurdly loyal to his family (which included Klaus, right?), and that he had this nutjob redemption plan for him. The risk was worth it, she decided.

"I'm his mate," she said quietly, hesitantly, saying the words aloud to someone else making them real, somehow.

Elijah pulled his hand away immediately, narrowing his eyes as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped her blood away. "I see. Well, you'll forgive me if I investigate a bit before I take your words at face-value. Your friends have an awful habit of going back on their word and lying to my face."

"I mean, you do you," she mumbled, wondering whether he was going to tie her up and throw her in a creepy basement or something, and she saw a flash of a smile before the world went black.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! Please review and let me know if you enjoyed it. What do you think Elijah will do with the information Caroline just gave him? What do you think Klaus's reaction will be to Elijah breaking Caroline's neck? Are you enjoying with the pacing so far? Any guesses on what will happen next? I'm so excited to hear your thoughts!  
Catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie, or on twitter at AngieWritesKC.

Hugs!  
-Angie


	5. Bringing out the Dead

A/N: Sorry that it's been awhile. I know I announced this on my tumblr, but if you guys don't follow me, you should know that I have been doing my thesis and other super-fun college things. I should start updating on Tuesdays now. I hope you guys like this chapter. As usual, some of the dialogue was directly taken from TVD, though once the story diverges from canon, that should stop. Thank you to Sophie for beta work.

* * *

"You've got your family back, finally," the hybrid said, watching Klaus as he ran his hand gently over the polished wooden lids of the coffins. "You gonna open them?"

"Not quite yet. I still have some unfinished business to take care of," Klaus said, walking away from the room with the coffins.

"What business?" his hybrid asked, and Klaus turned to face him, a bit irritated that the _help_ was questioning his daily agenda, when the man fell to the ground, his heart ripped from his chest, Elijah watching the body fall with mild interest. Klaus felt fear build in his gut as his brother squeezed the hybrid's heart into a pulpy mess, the blood running down his skin.

"So, Niklaus..."

"Elijah."

"What did I miss?" he asked, letting the remains of the hybrid's heart drop to the ground with a hideous squelching sound.

"Not much," Klaus said, gathering himself quickly.

"Well, there's a little blonde I found lingering in your bed, but if she's irrelevant, I'll just dispose of-"

"No," Klaus said quickly, and Elijah raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his face.

"Or perhaps she's not so irrelevant after all."

"Where is she?" Klaus asked, trying to keep his breathing even, to not show weakness.

Why had she been at the house? Had something gone wrong? Was she bitten? Did she get hurt?

Elijah had always been able to read him easily, though, and his brother's lips curled in a small smirk. "She's quite safe in the basement."

Before Elijah had finished his sentence, Klaus was already hurtling down the stairs to the small dungeon, flinging open the door to the cell to find Caroline curled on the ground, her neck at an unnatural angle.

"What did you do to her?" he growled, picking her up easily and cradling her against his chest, looking down at her to assess her injuries.

She seemed to have her neck snapped, though she didn't smell as though Elijah had drugged her with vervain, and she didn't have the grey pallor normally associated with magically-induced desiccation.

"Just a snapped neck, Niklaus. Nothing to be cross about."

He cupped her neck with his palm and felt the bones slowly knitting back together.

"On the contrary, Elijah, I believe that this is an excellent reason to be cross."

"So I take it that she is your mate, then?"

"Yes," Klaus said, his tone clipped. "And if you touch her again I will-"

"Dagger me and put me in a coffin until you see fit to wake me. Yes, brother. Your threats are growing tiresome to be perfectly honest."

"Not a threat, then. A bargain."

"I'm listening."

"Family means everything to you, Elijah, just as it does to me. Accept Caroline as one of us, and I will...I will be honest with you. No cloak and dagger theatrics."

"That's quite an offer, brother," Elijah said slowly, almost as though he couldn't believe it (and Klaus would have been surprised if he had).

"Only available for a limited time."

"I accept," Elijah said. "However, know this, Niklaus. If you are playing me for a fool..."

"Not when Caroline's involved," Klaus said quietly, almost upset with himself at how he was wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Though they both knew that Elijah would never touch an innocent, especially one that would make Klaus irrevocably insane should she die.

Elijah opened his mouth, clearly about to speak, but shut it again as Caroline stirred in Klaus's arms, her eyes opening slowly before she oriented herself and scrambled out of his arms.

Klaus wrapped his hand gently around her upper arm and she immediately relaxed, turning to look at Elijah, fear flashing through her eyes, and Klaus let his thumb stroke over her skin, trying to relax her.

"My apologies for our initial introduction, Miss Forbes," Elijah said formally, holding out a hand for her to shake. "My name is Elijah, and I'm Klaus's brother."

"Yeah, I figured that out, remember?" she asked, glaring at his hand and not offering hers, her lip curled.

"I do. Now, as much as I'd love to get to know you, I must take my leave."

Klaus could tell that it was taking a great deal of restraint on Caroline's part to not say something biting, but she managed. He waited until Elijah had left before turning to face Caroline, who wrenched her arm away, glaring at him.

"Not that I discourage you from sleeping in my bed, love, but may I ask what happened to bring you here?"

He had a very good idea of what might have happened (her friends were much less subtle than they thought they were), but was quite curious about what she'd come up with to explain it away. He doubted she'd out Tyler's attempts to unsire himself, even if she needed to seek comfort due to her distress from her father's arrival.

She opened her mouth and abruptly closed it again, biting her lip and looking away.

So she didn't want to lie to him. Interesting.

"Promise you won't hurt anyone if I tell you?" she asked hesitantly, and he restrained a snort.

"You know as well as I do that that's something I can't promise even you, sweetheart."

She scowled, clearly about to turn when he spoke again. "I do think I know why, though. If you're all right with me making a guess."

"Sure," she said warily, tilting her head to the side.

"I think that you're worried for your little wolf, that you're nervous that I'll go after him and your father for attempting to break the sire bond."

She froze, her eyes widening. "How did you know?"

"Come now, sweetheart. You can't honestly expect me not to keep track of the goings-on in this little town."

"Are you going to kill him?" she asked quietly.

"Your father or Tyler?"

"Either? Both?"

"I wouldn't kill your father, Caroline, though if my source is correct, he's in the hospital right now with a rather nasty wolf bite. Now, sweetheart, don't rush off. He's perfectly fine."

"And Tyler?"

"Alive and none the wiser that I know about his attempts to break the bond," Klaus said. "Believe it or not, love, I've been quite pre-occupied with getting the last of my coffins back. I haven't had time to address smaller matters."

Caroline remained silent, though she relaxed slightly when he laid his hand back on her arm. "Now, I'd like to call the Salvatore brothers and invite them over for dinner to make a bargain. You're welcome to join us, of course, though I'd assume you'd rather visit your father in the hospital?"

"I wouldn't join you even if he wasn't," Caroline said, though her words didn't hold as much venom as they would have just days before.

"Suit yourself, love."

She shot him one last glare before speeding off.

Klaus pulled out his phone and pressed the Ripper's number, holding it up to his ear. "Hello, mate. I'd like to make a deal for my last coffin..."

 **XXX**

"How can you hate who I am so much?"

Bill reached for her and she flinched back, trying desperately to wipe the tears from her eyes as he spoke, his voice raspy from lack of blood as he fought the urge to complete the transition.

"Oh, I don't hate you. I love you. You're strong, you're beautiful, you're good..."

Caroline shook her head, crying harder now. She wasn't strong enough to fight the bond, was _mated_ to a man who had killed tens of thousands of people. She couldn't be good...

"Daddy, I-"

"Shh," he whispered, pulling her to him and stroking her hair. "Even after everything that's happened to you, you're exactly who your mother and I hoped you'd grow up to be."

"If I wasn't, would you still love me?" she asked, and he paused, pulling away, his hands still on her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing her comfortingly through the fabric of her jacket.

"If you weren't what?"

"If I wasn't good?"

He was about to speak, but she shook her head, cutting him off before she could lose her nerve. "I asked you about mates because I have one," she said, sniffling.

"Oh, baby girl, Tyler's not-"

She shook her head frantically. "Klaus," she whispered, and he stared at her for a second, clearly completely thrown. She felt her undead heart pounding in her chest, felt her breathing speed up as she hiccupped through her tears.

She wasn't sure what to expect, her body freezing in fear as she tried to figure out the best way to pass it off, avoiding what she was sure would be a disappointed look in his eye.

"If that's true, it's not your fault," he said slowly, pressing his hand to her cheek to try to guide her face to look at his.

"You don't hate me?"

"I could never hate you."

"But what does that say about me? That I'm his mate?" she asked, the childhood memory of standing on the doorstep, watching her father walk away and wondering if she'd done something to make him leave prominent in her mind.

"He doesn't define you, Caroline. No matter how evil he is, you can still be good. You _are_ still good. You're your own person, baby girl. Don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise."

"Everyone's going to hate me," she whispered.

"Then they're not worth your love."

She nodded slowly, clumsily changing the subject to school, and he seemed to understand, sitting down on the guest bed and letting her tell him all about the last school year through her tears. He gave her advice for college, giving her a sharp look when she said she wanted to go to Whitmore ("You can do much better than that, baby girl"), and she felt the lull in conversation about an hour later, his breathing beginning to become slow and labored.

"Are you sure you don't want to turn?" she asked again, and he kissed the top of her head, his movements slow and sluggish.

"Yes, Caroline. I'm sure."

She waited until he'd stopped breathing completely, his skin greying, veins creeping up his body as he closed his eyes, and she felt her entire body shake with her sobs as she got up and sped to her own room, her entire body shaking with the temptation to go to Klaus, and she was having trouble resisting.

Luckily, she didn't have to decide.

She heard the front door open, knew instinctively that the sound of footsteps on the stairs belonged to Klaus, and he opened her door, his entire body tense.

"You need to come with me," he ordered, and she sat up, wiping her eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"My siblings have been freed from their coffins. Kol and Rebekah will not hesitate to hurt you out of revenge should they find out that you're my mate, and my mother...Well, best not to tempt her."

"Your mother?" Caroline asked slowly, her eyebrows raising.

"Forgive me, but there isn't much time to explain."

"Well, make time. I'm not moving."

"I'm perfectly capable of moving you," he pointed out, and she glared at him, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest. He frowned at her, reaching to touch her, and she flinched away from him. "You've been crying."

"My dad's dead," she said quietly, and his expression softened.

"I see."

"You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"I promised I wouldn't, and I meant it," he said, sitting on her bed.

"So, why do you need me to come with you?" she prompted, not wanting to talk to Klaus about her father's death.

She still had so many things to think about. Tyler had broken up with her, and her father was dead, and there really wasn't much holding her back. So what was?

"To keep you safe," he said. "My siblings will come for you, and if I'm with you, they're less likely to try to hurt you."

She reached for him, not quite knowing what she was doing, but needing to feel his skin against hers, needing his touch...

"Stay here," she whispered.

The way he looked at her made the breath leave her lungs, his gaze warming her inside, telling her that she was the center of his world, and she swallowed audibly, turning away to grab her purse, fumbling with the zipper.

"I made a schedule," she said in a rush, thrusting the page at him and ignoring the amused look he shot her.

"I see that."

"Just fill in what times you're free, and we can make something work."

He looked at her, clearly trying to figure out whether she was serious before he looked at the schedule again. "Whatever works for you, sweetheart. I'm sure I can make myself available."

She fought the blush, taking it back and inspecting the calendar. "Mondays and Thursdays?"

"If that's what you'd like."

She nodded, setting the calendar back on her side table and turning back to realize that at some point she'd pressed herself against his side (or perhaps he'd pulled her to him without her noticing). They were nose to nose, his eyes locked on hers, breath hot against her lips.

She hurriedly rolled over to face away from him, though she wriggled to press her back against his front, their legs tangling together as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

She was just closing her eyes when her phone vibrated in her purse. Klaus felt like such a natural extension of her body that she almost forgot he was there until she pulled it over and answered the phone.

"Care?"

"Hey, Elena," Caroline said slowly, her heart pounding as she felt Klaus shift behind her, his arm tightening around her waist.

She felt him bend to press his lips lightly to her neck, his mouth far enough away from the phone that Elena wouldn't hear what he whispered against her skin.

"Say hello to your friends for me, sweetheart."

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please tell me what you think. Do you like the direction of their relationship? Any predictions?

For updates on progress and other fun stuff, catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie :)

Hugs!  
-Angie


	6. Dangerous Liaisons

A/N: So, just a reminder, I'm aiming for this fic to be ten chapters including the epilogue. This is going to be short, and it moves pretty quickly. Thank you to Sophie for beta work.

* * *

Caroline's entire body went rigid at Klaus's words, absently humming to indicate that she'd heard Elena when she honestly wasn't listening, her thoughts focused on her friends' possible reactions to Klaus being her mate. Sure, her dad had accepted that she was Klaus's mate, had weirdly made her feel a lot less guilty about it, but her friends...

There was no way that they'd understand or accept it. The only people who might were Stefan and Bonnie. Stefan because he knew what it was like to go off the rails, and Bonnie because...well, Caroline couldn't think of a reason but she also couldn't bear to think that Bonnie would throw away their friendship. It would essentially be choosing between her and Elena, and she knew what happened when her friends made that choice.

A small voice in her head contributed (rather unhelpfully) that Klaus would probably make that choice too because of his hybrids. He might need her, but she knew that he could probably find a way to break the bond. Magic could do pretty much anything. Maybe he had people on it right now. Was he just biding his time until he killed her?

She vaguely realized that Elena was asking a question, and she shook herself. "Sorry 'Lena, what was that?"

"I asked if you've seen Klaus lately. He wasn't exactly happy with me and Jeremy sneaking into the Mikaelson house to undagger his siblings. And his mom. Anyway, I haven't seen him and I'm worried he's planning revenge. So stay safe, all right?"

It was hard not to scoff at Elena's words, and she was highly aware of Klaus smiling against her neck. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Elena. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," the other girl said.

"Bye.'

Caroline hung up, and she felt Klaus's fingers sneaking under her blouse to stroke the skin of her stomach. "They still don't know, then?"

"Obviously not. Are you nuts?" Caroline asked, wanting to tell him her earlier thoughts, to ask all her questions, but holding herself back.

"Not at all. I was wondering, though, if you might like to tell me what was on your mind during most of the conversation."

It wasn't a question, more like an order, and Caroline shifted against him, freezing in place when she felt his cock stir against her ass. "I...umm..."

"Sorry, love," he said quietly, shifting slightly. "While getting older does give me more stamina, it does not give me control of whether I'm aroused by friction caused by a lovely woman such as yourself."

She snorted disdainfully, twisting around so they were nose to nose. "The pick-up lines have to stop," she said bluntly. "I know that we're _mates,_ or whatever, but I'm way too smart to be seduced by you."

He grinned, his cheeks dimpling. "Is that so? So you have no intention of fulfilling your needs? Being a vampire can be quite...frustrating, and I have no intention of allowing you to pursue release elsewhere. You are _mine_ , Caroline. Once you allow me to touch you, no one else will ever compare."

She bristled. "You don't get to dictate my life like that. If I want to have sex with every guy in school, I will."

"But do you want to?" he asked, a wicked grin on his face, and she couldn't meet his eyes. He chuckled, his hand pressed against the small of her back, but she didn't wriggle away from him, the touch strangely comforting despite the content of their conversation.

"Whatever," she mumbled.

"Anyway, penny for your thoughts, sweetheart?"

"I was just thinking about how my friends would be angry if I told them about you," she said slowly, figuring that telling him things he already knew wasn't exactly bad. "They'd probably try to use me against you because of Elena."

"Well, they're fools," he said quietly. "The doppelgänger has gotten off quite easily, I'm afraid. Any other person that defied me as she did would have their entire town burned to the ground."

"Then why haven't you?" Caroline blurted. "It's not like you couldn't do that."

"You, obviously," he said matter-of-factly. "If you're going to be with me for the rest of my immortal life, and I assure you, I have no intention of letting you go, Caroline, then it's best not to murder all of your friends and leave your hometown in ruins."

"So, you're not trying to break the bond?" she asked hesitantly, and Klaus grimaced.

"In the interest of honesty, something that many people do not have the pleasure of getting from me, I'll admit that it crossed my mind at the beginning. However, I doubt I would be able to bring myself to do it even if I found a way, and looking for one would simply advertise my weakness. I've been meaning to talk to you about that, actually."

"What do you mean?"

"I know that you don't want to tell your friends, and frankly I don't think you should. In the interest of your safety, the fewer people who know that you're my mate, the better."

"Then how will we explain me being with you?" she asked before she thought the question through, realizing as soon as it was out of her mouth what it implied. Klaus seemed to know too, considering the smirk on his face, though he didn't comment.

"Why, you've fallen madly in love with me, of course."

She scoffed. "Fat chance, buddy."

"But for appearances..."

She knew that he could be lying, but for some reason she doubted it, her instincts telling her that he was being entirely truthful with her. She bit her lip, figuring that while he was doing the whole truth thing she might as well ask.

"If I asked you to leave Elena alone, to give up on the hybrids, would you? For me?"

"Yes," he said immediately. "Though I must admit that I'd prefer to simply take a few bags of her blood and be on our way. She stays alive and well, is able to continue her line for more doppelgangers in the future that aren't your childhood friends, and the Salvatores lose any motivation to kill me."

"But if I asked you'd let it go?"

"Would you really ask that of me, Caroline?"

"It's slavery," she said firmly.

"I'll release them from the sire bond under a few...conditions," he offered uncomfortably.

"What kinds of conditions?"

"Not hurting either of us. No uprisings. Being available to come back to my side at a moment's notice if I require assistance for something."

Caroline had to admit that she wasn't all that happy with it, but she figured that compromise was good, and that his offer was probably as good as she was going to get from him (at least for now). "Okay," she said finally.

"Perhaps you could try to convince the doppelganger that it's in her best interests to simply give some blood and let us go?" he suggested, and she bit her lip, considering it.

"I'll think about it," she said quietly. "And you didn't answer my question. Would you give up your hybrids if I asked you to?"

"Yes," he said reluctantly, though without taking the time to consider it. "Though I'd rather you did not ask it of me."

"Okay," she said quietly.

Klaus frowned as his phone vibrated, turning to pick it up and frowning before unlocking it, reading the text. "For fuck's sake," he muttered, and Caroline raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"It's been two hours and my mother's already figured out how to use a mobile phone," he said grumpily, his fingers moving as he texted back and added her to his contacts list. "Apparently there's to be a ball in two days and I'm expected to bring you."

"She knows I'm your mate?" Caroline asked uncomfortably.

"I'm not sure, but she apparently does know of your existence. Elijah never could keep his mouth shut."

"I can't go. I have dance committee," Caroline said, and the look she received from Klaus was a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

"I'm sure they can function without your leadership for a night, especially since I doubt that the committee will run until midnight or so."

"I have homework."

"I'm sure you can budget your time effectively to get it done in time, and if all else fails I'm happy to assist you."

She made a face but considered his offer. "Fine, but as far as anyone knows, you blackmailed me into going."

He gave her a small smile, his fingers fiddling with the ends of her hair. "As you wish, love."

There was something uncomfortably affectionate about his tone, about the way his fingers were rubbing her hair between his fingers, the way he was _looking_ at her.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably, turning away from him, unpleasantly aware of the heat stirring in her lower belly as she felt his half-hard cock pressed against her ass.

It had been weeks since Tyler, the toy she kept in her bedside table only giving her so much relief, and she couldn't deny, at least to herself, that she craved him.

She tried to ignore the pull of him, tried to tell herself that once he left she'd be fine, the discomfort only temporary.

She somehow knew, though, that her stubbornness would wear out eventually. There was no way she could have an eternal sexual relationship with her vibrator.

"I'll have a dress sent to you."

"No way," she said immediately. "I'm not letting you buy me a dress."

"I assure you that my taste is impeccable, and I sincerely doubt that you have anything appropriate to wear. No offense meant," he said. "If you'd like, you may pick it out and I'll simply have it shipped and altered for you."

She was slightly surprised at his casual way of offering to spend what would most likely be thousands of dollars on her, but she supposed that when you lived forever you had some money at your disposal.

"Okay," she said quietly. "But you get no input. I get to pick."

"All right," he agreed.

"You should probably get going. I'm exhausted and I need to sleep."

"As I said, I unfortunately cannot allow you to be alone. Rebekah and Kol would not hesitate to use you as leverage in revenge for daggering them, and I have no doubt that they're not above compelling your mother to invite them in. I have something for you, actually," he said, pulling a vial from his pocket and pressing it into her hand. "This is powdered vervain. Add just a bit to a drink in the morning and it will prevent compulsion from my siblings."

"Thank you," she said, strangely touched by the gesture despite knowing that it also was no doubt Klaus's protection for himself should his siblings decide to use her against him.

"You're welcome, love. Now, I will stay while you sleep, but if you wish I will move to the guest bedroom."

Caroline felt ice grip her heart, having almost forgotten that her father had just died, and she twisted around, tangling their legs and burying her face in his chest. "My dad's in there," she said quietly, and Klaus tightened his arms around her.

"I'll stay, then."

She closed her eyes, settling into the mattress, and her last coherent thought was that she didn't hate him. Not really.

 **XXX**

"Hello, Niklaus. May I borrow your companion for a moment?"

Caroline almost hoped he'd say no, nervous about meeting Klaus's mother alone. Klaus seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but he slowly let go of her, falling out of the position for the waltz. "Of course, mother."

Caroline followed Esther up the stairs, fear building in her gut. She stopped abruptly in front of a large door, opening it and gesturing for Caroline to precede her inside. There was a man who she recognized as one of Klaus's siblings loitering by the window. Esther set a small bundle of herbs on fire, the pungent smell of sage filling the room to prevent eavesdropping.

"Please, take a seat," Esther said, gesturing to the couch, and Caroline sat. "I see a great many things on the Other Side. As I understand, Niklaus broke the hybrid curse, and his wolf has chosen you as his mate."

"Yes," Caroline said, not bothering to deny it.

"You must know that my son is not the kindest of men, and I'm sure that you feel trapped and helpless being attached to someone so hated by your friends."

Caroline remained silent, not knowing where the woman was headed, though she had a feeling it was nowhere good.

"I'd like to offer you a deal of sorts. Though all of my children are unnatural, Niklaus is my most shameful mistake. Now that he's broken his curse, there is no balance. I must recast the curse on him to keep it, and I want you to bring him to me in three day's time so that I may do so. Should you choose to help me, I will break the mate bond before I lock his wolf away, and you will live your life without him. Free."

"You're joking right?" Caroline snapped, not even having to consider the options to know her answer. "Not in a million years."

"I will do it with your cooperation Caroline, even if Finn must compel you. If you help of your own free will, I will break the mate bond so that you may live safely. If not...well, you'll have to hope that Niklaus breaks the curse before you succumb to the pain of living without him."

She couldn't help but be slightly tempted by the offer when Esther explained it like that. Not long ago she'd been wishing desperately for a way out of the bond, and she knew that it would be safer for her to agree to Esther's plan, but...

Caroline felt her heart clench, feeling sick to her stomach. She couldn't do that to Klaus. Maybe it was the mate bond, or maybe she'd truly started falling for him, but either way she wouldn't betray him.

But if she refused, she'd be compelled into being someone's lackey again, and she couldn't let that happen. She'd promised herself that she'd never be a slave to someone again.

That's when she remembered the vial Klaus had given her, the vervained coffee she'd dutifully downed that morning, the liquid burning in her throat...

She'd act like she was compelled and follow Esther's instructions until she could get Klaus alone, and then she'd tell him everything.

"You'll have to compel me."

"Very well," Esther said with a cold smile. "Finn, do it."

"He'll find out," Caroline said, glaring at Esther even as Finn grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. "He'll find out and he'll kill you."

Finn compelled her to seduce him, to earn his trust, and then snap his neck and inject him with vervain and wolfsbane before bringing him to Esther later that night. That she couldn't tell him what was going on under any circumstances.

Caroline repeated the instructions back, descending back down the staircase nervously, Finn growling behind her that he'd be listening, that she shouldn't try anything stupid.

She walked back to Klaus. "Dance with me?"

He nodded, taking her hand, his palm on her hip, leading her around the dancefloor.

"What did my dear mother want?"

"Just to meet me," Caroline lied, highly aware of Esther on the stairs and Finn listening in nearby. "She actually told me that she'd seen your suffering from the Other Side. She just wants you to be happy, and I think it's silly to waste any more time."

"Is that so?"

"Take me home, Klaus," she said.

"Are you sure?" he asked slowly, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I don't want to waste any more time," she repeated.

Highly aware that her friends were probably watching closely, but not really caring as long as this kept them safe...and maybe a little because she wanted to...she caught his lips with hers. Fire burnt through her veins in the best possible way, almost making her forget her task as his mouth moved against hers. She felt the ache bloom in her core, her need for him making every inch of her impossibly sensitive.

It was too bad that their first kiss was a lie, she thought. But, then again, once they defeated Esther, she'd give him thousands of kisses over the years to make up for it.

The idea of eternity didn't terrify her as much as she knew it should have. Instead, she almost felt...excited.

"Gladly, sweetheart."

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you thought. What do you think about Esther's offer? Any predictions on Klaus's reaction? What do you think of the way Caroline and Klaus's relationship is progressing?  
Catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie if you'd like :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie


	7. All My Children

A/N: Thank you to Sophie for beta work.

* * *

Elena gave her a 'what the _fuck_ are you doing' look as Caroline left with Klaus, and Caroline just gave her a helpless sort of shrug. She could feel her phone going off in her bra, but once Klaus's lips were back on hers she felt the sensation fade away.

Her vision was hazy as he pressed her against the front door of her house, his hands burning against her hips through her dress, his tongue claiming her mouth in a way that made her shiver.

She fumbled behind her for the doorknob, not having bothered to lock it when she left (crime unrelated to supernatural beings in Mystic Falls was so low that she occasionally wondered how her mother kept her job), and they stumbled inside. Klaus kicked the door closed behind them and pinned her against the wall of her living room with his hips, his cock hard and throbbing against her thigh.

He moved to press his lips against her neck, his teeth scraping across the sensitive skin, and she abruptly remembered what she was supposed to be doing. "Klaus, I need to talk to you," she said through ragged breaths, and he nuzzled her neck, his hands stroking her lower back.

"Later."

"Your mother's trying to re-cast the curse," she said. Klaus stopped, and Caroline was acutely aware of the cold air against her neck as he detached from her, completely separating himself.

"Beg pardon?"

Caroline licked her lips nervously, curling a piece of blonde hair that had strayed from her elaborate bun and looked at him. "Your mom got Finn to compel me to seduce you, break your neck, and bring you to her to re-cast the curse."

She saw his face flash with hurt before it turned to anger. "This was a trick?" he asked slowly.

"No," she hastened to assure him, reaching out to press her hands against his shoulder. "No, it's not a trick. You gave me vervain, remember? I took it this morning."

He looked like he was trying desperately not to roll his eyes. "Not that. If you weren't on vervain you wouldn't have told me. I meant the kiss. Saying that you wanted me."

"Oh," she said, her face heating. "Well, I wouldn't call that a _lie_ ," she said slowly, looking away.

He chuckled softly, cupping her cheek in his palm. "Tell me, Caroline, how long have you been craving my touch?"

"This is not the time for this conversation," she said, dodging the question and pushing him away. "We need to figure out how to stop Esther."

"Once we stop Esther we're having this conversation," he said, and she just gave him an unimpressed, her eyes narrowed.

"Let's take this one step at a time."

He gave her a dimpled smile. "All right, love. So, you were saying?"

"Esther wants to re-do the hybrid spell. She offered to break the mate bond if I helped her, and..."

"And you said no?" he asked when she trailed off, seeming genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. I did," Caroline said, deciding not to elaborate on her reasons. Klaus already looked like the smuggest asshole alive from her saying that kissing him wasn't a lie, he didn't need to know that she had no ulterior motive for stopping Esther other than that she'd started to care for him.

Caroline scowled as her phone vibrated again, and she ignored Klaus's grin as she pulled it out of her bodice, looking at the screen.

Twenty-seven texts from Elena.

Caroline read through them all, becoming more concerned as she did.

"What's wrong, love?"

"Elena wanted to know why we left," Caroline said slowly. "But then she sent back 'never mind, Esther told me'. Apparently your mom was planning on linking all of you guys together by having you all drink the same potion or something. If they kill one of you, they kill all of you."

Klaus's face darkened. "I see."

"Yeah. Pretty shitty parent behavior, to be honest," Caroline joked weakly, and Klaus didn't smile.

"I suppose that she wants to re-cast the hybrid curse so that the linking spell will take me along with the rest of them. With my wolf side locked away I become much more vulnerable."

"Okay, so we'll stop the ritual."

"You say it like it's easy."

"We stopped you," Caroline pointed out dryly, and he glared at her.

"Elijah stopped me. Your little ragtag team of friends had almost no part in that. The Salvatore brothers are sub-par planners, your witch friend is mediocre at best, and the doppelganger is rather useless as anything but Salvatore bait. If Elijah hadn't intervened, I would have easily broken the curse, killed everyone in the town, and escaped without a single hair out of place."

"Bonnie isn't mediocre."

"Is that your only objection to that statement?" he asked, his lips twitching.

"Elena isn't useless."

"What does she do, exactly? Other than run off to try to save everyone with terrible consequences?"

"She's my friend," Caroline said firmly. "Either way, I think we're qualified to take on your mom, especially with your help."

"But do your friends want to? The last I heard, they wouldn't mind at all if my siblings and I died."

Caroline was silent for a few seconds, realizing that Klaus was right. She doubted her friends would ever stop wanting to kill Klaus, not when he wanted Elena's blood, and as far as Damon and Stefan were concerned, the more threats eliminated the better. Could she ever convince them to leave Klaus alone, or would she have to choose?

If they made her choose between siding with her friends and living as a shell of who she used to be for eternity or siding with her mate and losing the people she'd grown up with, were they really her friends?

Caroline valued loyalty, in both herself and others, and she wanted to say her friends would let their ridiculous campaign go for her, but deep in her heart of hearts, she knew they wouldn't.

"Do you think we can stop the ritual? Just us?"

"Well, it wouldn't be just us, sweetheart. We'd have Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah."

"I thought you said they wanted to kill me?" Caroline said, frowning.

"You'll find that when you're as old as we are, grudges work a bit differently. I have no doubt that Kol and Rebekah are angry, but they will set it aside for the moment in order to ensure their survival. After that, I'm afraid we'll have to be on our guard again."

"How are we going to do this, then? Esther thinks I'm bringing you to her tonight."

Klaus pressed his lips together, clearly less than pleased. "Well, I'm afraid she'll be disappointed, then."

"Won't she realize that I'm not compelled?"

"I'm sure that she'll just think that your seduction tactics were lacking and that you didn't manage to complete your task," Klaus said, reaching to place a hand on her upper arm, his touch almost hesitant. "I won't let anything happen to you, Caroline."

"Okay."

 **XXX**

Caroline was holding his hand tightly as they walked into the Grill. She'd responded to his mother's text that morning saying that she hadn't been able to complete her task yet, as well as repeating the information to the doppelganger, who seemed perfectly all right with Caroline pretending to like him to further their plan, also giving her a foolproof cover story.

He knew how difficult it must be to lie to her friends like that, and a small part of him was comforted by it. Well, as long as it wasn't a trick, of course.

And with anyone else, he would have been paranoid about it, but with Caroline... Something told him that she was completely genuine when she said she wanted to help, and he'd learned over the years to trust his instincts, no matter what they said.

The same instincts that had told him that Esther coming back couldn't mean anything good.

He shot her a look out of the corner of his eye, unable to resist drinking her in. She really was beautiful. She seemed to feel his eyes on her, because she shot him a small, hesitant smile before they walked to the table where Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah were waiting.

"Nik," Kol greeted. "Nik's girl."

"Caroline," she corrected, holding out her hand, and Kol grabbed it kissing her knuckles and winking.

She wrinkled her nose, and Klaus ducked his head to hide his grin. He pulled out her chair for her, and she sat, looking faintly surprised.

Had no one ever paid her any courtesy before in her life?

"What did you call us here for, Niklaus?"

Caroline gave them a brief explanation, her eyes holding Elijah's gaze challengingly, and his brother nodded once when she'd finished, looking slightly contemplative. "Well, how do you propose we proceed?"

"Kill her," Kol said easily, pushing back from the table and putting his feet on it, ignoring Elijah's scandalized choke of outrage. "Don't look so surprised, 'Lijah, she's trying to kill her own children. Not very motherly of her is it?"

"Perhaps we should attempt to reason with her," Elijah said, and Kol scoffed.

"And tip her off that we know what she's planning? Bad form, Elijah."

"What do you think, Bekah?" Kol asked, turning to his sister, and Rebekah gave a sniff of derision before shrugging.

"Whatever Nik thinks is best, I suppose."

"Still following his orders like a lost puppy, Bekah? I expected better."

"Stuff it, Kol," Rebekah snapped.

"I agree with Kol," Klaus said, and Elijah's shoulders slumped.

"I had hoped you would consider diplomacy, Niklaus."

"No offense, but you do realize that she's trying to kill you, right?" Caroline cut in, and all of the Originals froze, turning to look at her.

Klaus's lips twitched as Caroline seemed to realize she'd spoken, and he took her hand under the table, rubbing her palm with his thumb to reassure her.

"Yes, I do, Miss Forbes," Elijah said stiffly.

"So then why do you want to reason with her? It's not like she's going to stop."

"It's complicated."

"Except it's really not complicated, Elijah," Kol cut in exasperatedly. "She'll be on the Other Side. We can always just bring her back if we need to."

Klaus couldn't restrain a snort, and he gave Elijah a triumphant look. "That's settled, then."

"I suppose I'm outvoted," Elijah said grumpily.

"Great," Caroline said cheerfully. "So, what's the plan?"

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it :D What do you think of Klaus's reaction to Caroline's news? Caroline's realization? The meeting with Klaus's family? Do you like how the relationship is progressing? Please let me know your thoughts. :)

Catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie.

Hugs!  
-Angie


	8. The Murder of One

A/N: Sorry it's been awhile! After this we have one more chapter and then the epilogue, so hopefully it'll come fast?

Thank you to Sophie for beta work.

* * *

Caroline would never admit it, but having to pretend that she was pretending to seduce Klaus was incredibly convenient for her physical comfort.

She shifted on top of him, pressing her cheek to his bare chest over his heart, letting out a small hum of contentment as he ran his fingers up and down her spine over her pajama top. His other hand was stroking her hair, and she could feel his eyes on her as she stirred, yawning before burrowing closer.

"Good morning, love."

"No," she mumbled, and she felt his chest rumble underneath her cheek as he laughed quietly.

"No, it's not a good morning?"

"Shhh. It's early."

"We have to get up early to stop the ritual sweetheart," he said.

The problem wasn't really the ritual. Esther couldn't incapacitate all of the original siblings at once, and as long as they got Finn down first, it would be easy to kill Esther. Since Finn had been daggered for the better part of a thousand years, he had roughly as much strength as a 100 year old vampire, and Klaus was confident that they could sneak up on him quite easily.

The real issue was that they were all linked together, and if one died, they all would.

The plan was to kill Esther and then convince Bonnie to use the prepared ritual site to unlink the Originals instead of killing them. Caroline's mind had been racing for half the night as she tried to figure out a way she could convince Bonnie to help without revealing that she was mated to Klaus, but she honestly couldn't think of another way out.

Elena had been her friend since they were kids, but Bonnie had always been her _best_ friend. Bonnie's rejection would hurt, and Caroline was terrified that she'd lose their friendship. She knew deep down, though, that she'd have to tell Bonnie eventually, and it was better to rip off the band-aid rather than lie for years.

He'd tried to convince her that she should stay home where it was safe, but she insisted that she was the only one who could convince Bonnie to help, and he reluctantly agreed to let her come along.

Unfortunately, the ritual apparently had to be done at an ungodly hour in the morning.

"Sweetheart," Klaus said cajolingly, interrupting her racing thoughts, pressing a soft kiss to her jaw that made her shiver. "We need to go."

She opened her eyes, reaching to her side table to grab her phone while still keeping as much of her body pressed to Klaus's as possible. She clicked open the screen and frowned at the time.

"Klaus, it's literally six in the morning."

"It's three past."

"Oh, are you going to be one of those pretentious asses that tell me I'm using literally wrong?" she grumbled. "I literally just want ten more minutes."

"Noted," he said, though she could hear the mix of amusement and exasperation in his voice, and she closed her eyes again.

"Just give me until 6:15, okay?"

"You seem tired, sweetheart. I'll just let you sleep, and I'll wake you up when I get back, all right?"

Her eyes flew open at his words, and she shoved the covers off, repressing a yawn and grabbing some clothes from her dresser.

She turned to see him slipping on his shirt from the day before. She wrinkled her nose. "Are you seriously wearing the same shirt two days in a row?"

The look he gave her was both incredulous and amused, and she huffed, resisting the urge to ask if he was raised in a barn (because maybe he was? Were vikings raised in barns? She'd google it later).

"I'm going to go get ready. If you leave without me I'll never forgive you."

She heard him chuckle as she left, and got ready at record speed before returning to her bedroom.

He was checking his phone when she walked in, and he looked her up and down as he put it back in his jacket pocket before speaking.

"They're on their way."

"Okay. Let's go then."

They walked out the door towards the forest. She slid his hand into his, not meeting his eyes as she did so. "Are you sure you can do this?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"Kill your mom?"

"I've done it before," he pointed out, his voice casual, and Caroline choked on a breath.

"Right," she said, restraining all of the questions she had about how a family dynamic could be this fucked up.

He seemed to read her mind, though, his voice soft as he spoke again. "You'll find, Caroline, that much can change in a thousand years. Your perspective on what family means, who you should keep beside you, who your friends are..."

She couldn't help but think that he was talking about her life rather than his, and she bit her lip, still looking at the ground as they walked, his hand enclosing hers.

They met Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah on the edge of the forest.

Klaus held up three fingers and counted down, and Caroline watched him, her undead heart pounding in her chest.

When Klaus put the third finger down, they all raced into the clearing, the Originals moving much faster than her, and by the time she arrived Finn was lying on the ground and the siblings were advancing on Esther, Abby, and Bonnie, trying to fight through the pain of the aneurysms.

Caroline grabbed Bonnie around the waist, ignoring her friend's screech of surprise, and sped them to the forest's edge, both to get her very murder-able friend out of danger, and also so that they could talk.

"Why are you helping them, Caroline?" Bonnie asked as Caroline skidded to a stop.

"Look, I have something to tell you, and you have to promise me you won't freak out."

"I mean, I'm not sure there's much that could surprise me anymore, Care."

Caroline steeled herself, gathering all of her courage, and took a deep breath. "Remember how I was researching mates and I told you it was because of Tyler?"

"Yeah, but you guys broke up, so I figured that you weren't," Bonnie said.

"Yeah, no, Tyler and I aren't mates, but..."

"But?"

"Klaus and I are," Caroline said, watching her best friend as Bonnie's face went from surprised to horrified to disgusted to...sympathetic? "Bonnie..."

"Don't," Bonnie said quietly, taking a shaking breath. "It's not your fault."

"Well vampirism wasn't either and you still held it against me," Caroline snapped, and Bonnie winced.

"Yeah, but that was before...before everything," she said, a bit lamely. "We've all grown up a lot in the past few months, and yeah, he's Klaus, but you're _Caroline_ , and we've been best friends for pretty much forever..."

"Yeah," Caroline said softly, trying not to sound too unsure. "Yeah. We have been."

Bonnie nodded, and they were quiet for a few seconds before Bonnie spoke again. "So, I guess that you want me to unlink them all?"

Caroline blinked. "Um. Yeah, actually. You'd do that? Just like that?"

"Well, you'll go insane if Klaus dies, right?"

"Right, although I'd die anyway because of the sire line."

"You're not helping your case here," Bonnie said, a small smile pulling at her lips.

"Because I'm your best friend and he's my soulmate and you love me?" she half-asked, pasting what she hoped was a winning smile on her face.

"Well who could say no to that?" Bonnie asked dryly, and Caroline pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you, Bon."

"You're welcome."

 **XXX**

By the time the ritual had been completed, it was early afternoon, and Elijah had wanted to bury Esther before Finn and Sage left Mystic Falls.

Caroline had felt odd intruding on the family moment, no matter what Elijah said about them being family (he'd still tried to rip out her kidney, and fine, so maybe she was still a little mad about it), so she went back to her house to take a shower.

She had a feeling Klaus would come over, and wasn't surprised when she walked into her bedroom to find him waiting for her. She brushed her hair in silence, highly conscious of the way her tank top was sticking to her skin. She could feel his eyes on her, but neither of them spoke until she slid into bed beside him.

He pulled her back against his front, their legs tangling, and she felt an absolute sense of _rightness_ wash over her as he splayed a hand over her stomach, his nose buried in her hair.

She'd been rolling his words from earlier around in her head all day, and she couldn't help but wonder where he thought they'd be after a hundred years. A thousand.

"Do you think that your perspective on me will change?"

He didn't even flinch, his finger tracing circles on her abdomen as he considered his answer. "You mean to ask whether I'll tire of you?"

"Yeah. I guess that's what I mean."

He was silent for a few seconds, and Caroline felt like it was an unnecessary amount of time to consider the question. "I cannot leave you for fear of my sanity. Whether I tire of you is irrelevant."

She let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "You sure know how to make me feel optimistic."

"I'm being honest with you, Caroline," he said quietly. "If I didn't care, I would spin pretty words about eternity to keep you at my side. I'm telling you my true feelings. I do not believe I will tire of you, and I should hope you will not of me. Despite that, we are bound eternally, and I'm certain that there will be hiccups. Every couple has fights, or so I've been told, and we have the disadvantage of not having the luxury of personal space when we need it."

"Yeah. That's true."

"I know."

She scoffed, elbowing him lightly in the stomach behind her, and she felt him smile into her hair. "Arrogant."

"You'll learn to love it."

"I guess I'll have to," she said, and this time he did stiffen, his tone cold when he spoke again.

"I'm sorry it's such a burden."

Caroline pressed her lips together, having had just about enough of his attitude. She twisted around to face him, despite barely being able to make out his face in the darkness. "Look, not to be rude or anything, but I'm a seventeen year old girl that got randomly turned into a blood sucking monster less than a year ago, and you're a thousand year old serial killer with tons of enemies who I'm sure would all be _itching_ to kill me if they knew I existed. Despite this, I am letting myself fall in love with you, said super-old mass murderer. Am I young and weak? Yes, but I still don't think you got the bad end of the deal here-don't interrupt me, I'm not done- _and_ surprisingly, despite that, loving you is not a burden. Like, I totally thought it would be, but you're smart, you make me laugh, and you're super hot, so really it's not that bad of a deal when you ignore the whole 'people wanting to kill me because of you' thing. Also, side note, that's a really dumb idea, because then you'd go insane, and I'm sure that you'd be less inclined to leave people alive that way."

He watched her ramble herself out with a small smile on his face, one that wasn't at all indulgent or amused by her words. He looked...happy.

"I'm quite pleased you're not as opposed to the idea as you were a few weeks ago."

"I'm really not," she said quietly, only _really_ realizing how unopposed to it she was as she spoke.

Klaus had done horrible things, and he was honestly a terrible person, but he was her _mate_. She didn't love him yet, but she knew that it was quite possible she would eventually, and all relationships took work. The way he looked at her made her entire body come _alive_ , and she longed to trail a finger down his abs, to trace his tattoos with her tongue...

He was studying her with something more than simple desire, like _hunger_ , in his eyes, and no one had ever made her feel like this, like she was _needed_ and _treasured_ and _wanted_. She could feel the heat of him against her body, could smell his scent staining her sheets, and she just couldn't help herself, just needed a _taste_ of him.

His eyes were glittering in the dark as she moved infinitesimally closer, the flash of yellow spreading across his irises making them glow.

She hovered there for a moment, knowing that if she pressed on, there would be no excuses. She wasn't pretending to seduce him, and this wasn't an impulsive heat-of-the-moment action. This was purposeful. This was her wanting him just as much as he did her.

There would be no going back the second she pressed her lips against his. She knew that.

Her eyes locked with his, their bodies so close together that she could feel the thumping of their undead hearts in perfect sync. She felt breathless in the best way, her body humming in anticipation as Klaus waited patiently for her to make the final move, to acknowledge that this was her choice, that _he_ was her choice _._

She did.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you thought! Feedback helps me get better, and also motivates me to write more! Were there any lines of dialogue you liked? Moments you liked? Times when you thought someone was particularly in character or out of character? Let me know!

* * *

 **Friendly reminder:** The Klaroline Awards are happening on tumblr, and you can nominate until Saturday, July 16th. I'm on the Research team for them, and so I'm doing my fandom duty by advertising ;) Go forth and participate!

The url for them is klarolineawards. tumblr. com


	9. Do Not Go Gentle

**If you were hoping for plot of any sort in this chapter, you will be sorely disappointed. This is essentially 2500 words of smut, so if that's not your thing, you should wait to pick this up again until chapter 10, which is almost done. If smut _is_ your thing, then I hope you enjoy this ;)**

 **Thanks to Sophie for beta work.**

* * *

When Caroline had kissed him just a few days before, the feeling of his lips against hers had made her knees buckle. He'd pushed her against her doorway, and she'd felt faint and heavy and lost in his touch. Now she felt like a piece of her was sliding into place, like she'd found what made her whole.

Their kiss had started out tentative, her lips moving against his slowly, heat blooming under her skin as he teased the seam of her lips with a lazy stroke of his tongue. Once she'd let her lips part, a soft sigh escaping her, he became more insistent, their kisses frenzied and passionate. His tongue tangled with hers, teeth sinking into her lip with a pleasurable sting, and she heard him growl, a low rumble in his throat that made her thighs clench.

She felt something clawing against the inside of her skin, fighting to get out, both foreign and familiar at the same time. Her blood thrummed with need, her face prickling as her veins creeped along her cheeks. She broke to catch her breath, her eyes heavy-lidded, her cheeks hot, and she instinctively sunk her nails into his back, pushing her body against his. Her mind was hazy, high on his touch, and she found herself rolling her covered core against his bare thigh, needing to spread her scent on him. To claim him.

"You're so beautiful with your monster out," he said, reaching to cup her face, his thumb brushing over the dark lines marring her cheeks, making her shiver.

She was about to answer when his lips claimed hers again, his kisses rough and biting and _right_ , and she'd never felt need like this, never wanted so badly to be taken.

Klaus dragged his lips down her jaw before he began to lick and suck at her neck, creating marks that she knew would have stained her skin for days had she been human. She found she liked the idea of being marked by him, and she whimpered as he slid his hand under the back of her tank top to stroke her spine.

"You're shorts are soaked through," he muttered, rubbing her pussy through the fabric with his palm. "I love how wet you are for me, sweetheart. I've barely touched you and you're already so ready for me."

"Klaus..." she breathed as he pressed his palm against her clit through the fabric, her body shuddering, and she felt him smile against her neck.

She hooked her leg over his hip, needing to feel his hardness against her aching core, needing to know that he was as affected by this as she was by him, and she found the evidence of his arousal pressing so perfectly against her, the friction a welcome relief against her already sensitive skin.

Klaus let his hand trail down the back of her thigh, pulling her more tightly against him, the tips of his fingers sneaking under the hem of her shorts to press against the pliant flesh of her ass, and she whimpered into his mouth as he ground against her center, pulling her against him. She shifted, pushing him on his back to straddle him, her hair falling around her face, and he watched with dark, heavy lidded eyes as she trailed a hand down his bare chest teasingly, flicking her thumb over his nipple before scraping her nails lightly down his skin until she got to the hem of his boxers.

He grabbed her wrist at the first brush of her fingers against the fabric, tugging it away from his hard cock and grabbing the other before flipping them over in one smooth movement to pin them over her head with one hand.

"Not yet," he said. "Keep them there, sweetheart. I want every thought in your pretty head to be focused on the way I make you writhe beneath me. There will be time for you to touch me later."

Her eyes widened at the heated look he was giving her as he loomed over her, his eyes wandering slowly down her body as though memorizing her, his fingers stroking down her side.

"What?" she asked, her voice embarrassingly breathless. She was highly aware of every brush of his fingers against her skin, every movement he made. Her core was aching, and she wanted, _needed_ , him to touch her.

"I want you, Caroline. Do you know how many times I've imagined you like this? Underneath me with your wrists pinned above your head, your legs spread for my cock, surrendering yourself to me... My wolf is hungry for you, sweetheart. I've spent every night since I first met you coming in my hand to my fantasies of you," he whispered, his voice husky, and she couldn't help but whimper at his words as he let go of her wrists to tear the fabric of her cami down the middle, her nipples pebbling at the sensation of the cool air, goosebumps spreading across her skin as he trailed his finger lightly between her breasts.

"Like what?" she asked, her voice shaking, and his tongue darted across his lips as he drank her in, his cock still throbbing through his boxers against her inner thigh.

It was an odd sort of power high to know that Klaus, the Original Hybrid, the most powerful being in the world, wanted her so much.

He grinned, his dimples on full display as he ground against her thigh. "Which one would you like to hear about? My imagination has been quite active in the past few weeks. I've imagined you when your stubbornness finally snaps, coming to my door with a flushed face and dark eyes, the scent of your arousal heavy in the air when your fingers just weren't enough. I wanted you to spread your legs for me, to beg me to help you find your release."

She let out a soft whimper at his words, and she heard him laugh quietly as he leant down to brush his lips lightly against her jaw before he spoke in her ear, his voice rough and thick with lust.

"I wanted to taste you, for you let me tease you with my mouth, your legs hooked over my shoulders, lips parted as you moan for me. I want to see your hazy eyes and labored breathing as you whimper and beg, writhing as I bring you to the edge again and again. The scent of your arousal has given me just a small idea of how delicious you'd taste, sweetheart. I want nothing more than to torture you with my mouth until a simple touch would let you find release."

She was achingly sensitive, and she whined his name softly as he pinned her hips, preventing her from seeking the friction she craved.

"I want to watch you touch yourself, to see you moan my name as you clench around your fingers wishing it was my cock. I've imagined it often, wondered whether you were tangled in your sheets at night, trying to find release even as I stroked myself to thoughts of you. I imagined you conjuring up the filthiest fantasies in your mind, your face buried in your pillow to stifle the moans of my name. Have you?"

"Yes," she breathed, the word catching in her throat before she stuttered it out, and the answering smile he gave her was predatory and full of satisfaction.

"My wolf wants me to claim you, my mate, to see you on your hands and knees and take you from behind, your fingers wound in the sheets. Perhaps I'd do it in front of a mirror, watch your dark eyes and flushed cheeks, your lips parted as you succumb to the pleasure I could bring you. I want to rub your clit while I take you, watch your arms shake with pleasure until you simply let yourself press your cheek against the mattress with your eyes squeezed shut, your pretty arse in the air for me."

"Klaus..."

"I wonder how your wrists and ankles would look bound to the bed, how beautiful you'd look across my sheets, your legs spread wide," he said, and she'd never given that sort of thing a single thought, but when Klaus said it she felt her pussy clench, a different sort of need filling her. "I want to run my fingers and tongue along your skin as you writhe beneath me, teasing you until you beg for them to wander closer to where you really want them. I've imagined you tugging at your bonds as you watch, helpless to how slowly I bring you to the edge, but loving every single moment of it."

His voice was building her up so easily, the promise in his words increasing her anticipation, painting the fantasies he described in her mind.

"I often wonder how you would look on your knees for me, with your lips wrapped around me. Would your hand wander between your thighs as you suck my cock? Would you be able to stand watching me fall apart from your touch without being able to ignore your own need? I want to watch you come around your fingers before you wrap your hand around my cock, your arousal spread along my skin as you stroke me before you lick it away. I want you to pull back so that I can spill on your breasts, marking your skin with my release."

She was so wet, her pussy so unbearably _empty,_ and she was sure that he could make her come from just a brush of his finger against her clit. She needed to know more, wanted to hear every single thing he'd imagined over the past few weeks.

"More," she breathed.

He chuckled quietly, the wicked grin he shot her as he palmed her breast making her center throb with need.

"More?" he whispered, making a shiver of anticipation run down her spine, and he bent to flick his tongue against her nipple, making her squirm from the sensation of it. "Does hearing about my fantasies turn you on, Caroline? Should I tear this pathetic excuse for clothing away so I can see how much you want me?"

She took a shaky breath, nodding and letting out a moan as he tugged one of her nipples between his teeth, the sensation making her clench as he tugged the shorts away, leaving her body bare to his gaze.

He continued trailing kisses down her abdomen, the little nips against her skin making stabs of need shoot to her core, and she felt him smile against her skin as she moaned. "Klaus..."

"What, sweetheart?"

She could hear the amusement in his voice, the smugness in how close she was to coming apart, but she couldn't bring herself to care, just needing his touch.

Still, she was curious about the things he'd imagined, wanted to have some fuel for her own dirty thoughts, and she found herself saying so. "Tell me more about what you think about."

He laughed quietly, propping himself on his elbows. "You like it when I talk then, love?"

She nodded, her eyes wide as he crawled back on top of her, his movements predatory, and he bent to nuzzle her neck, his next words a rough whisper in her ear.

"What if I told you I hadn't even gotten close to telling you the filthiest fantasies I have? That my appetite for you stretches far beyond our bed? I want to bend you over my desk and stain your pretty arse red with my hand, Caroline. I want to watch you squirm as your face heats from the slickness between your thighs as I spank you. Would you let me?"

She nodded, her cheeks flaming at the bluntness with which he expressed his wants, at her realization that she might want it too, that the idea made her ache for him.

"Would you let me fuck you in the middle of a club, sweetheart?" he asked between hot, sucking kisses to her neck. "Let me bunch your dress around your hips just far enough for me to fill you? Would you moan for me in the middle of a crowd? come around me in plain sight of everyone? Would you let me spill inside of you so that my come leaks down your thighs as you press yourself against me?"

She had to fight to keep her wrists where they were, and he seemed to notice, nuzzling her neck and smiling as he spoke. "You're being so good for me, sweetheart. I love the way you look like this, your body open for my touch. I can smell how soaked you are from it, how much your submission turns you on."

Her eyes flew open, her breath catching, and she felt him smile, pressing another open-mouthed kiss to her neck, the flick of his tongue making her moan.

"Klaus, I need..." her body felt oversensitive and desperate, every part of her alive with want, and she heard the rip of fabric before she felt him fill her in one smooth thrust.

He swore her name out through gritted teeth, his eyes flashing yellow, and he bent to give her a bruising kiss as he moved. She lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist and meeting each of his thrusts with her own, her body so close from hearing his descriptions of his fantasies that it didn't take much to tip her over the edge. She writhed against him as he kept moving, riding out her orgasm with frenzied thrusts of her hips, finally moving her hands to scratch across his back. She was breathing raggedly when she came down from her high, and his fangs were out, his eyes gold.

She tipped her head to the side invitingly, her entire body shaking from the friction of his cock against her oversensitive skin, and she moaned at the sting of his fangs against her neck, feeling him shudder as he spilled inside of her.

He rolled them over so that she was on top of him and tipped his head to the side, stroking her hair as she sucked the cure from his veins. She kissed him lazily, sucking the remains of her blood from his lower lip, and pressed her face into his shoulder. She snuggled against him, her eyes closing.

Klaus was undoubtedly a terrible person. He'd slaughtered countless numbers of people. He was selfish, cruel, and manipulative. He was a monster.

She'd never felt safer.

* * *

 **So, just so you all know, the Klaroline Awards are going on right now. I've been nominated for Most Creative Author, Best Smut Author, and Best Caroline Author. You can vote for me (and/or the other finalists) at the klarolineawards tumblr (klarolineawards. tumblr. com).**

 **Please let me know what you think. Was the smut good? Did the ending work? Let me know!**


	10. Before Sunset

Last chapter before the epilogue. Mentions of Damon's abuse of Caroline in this chapter. Thank you to Sophie for beta work.

* * *

Klaus pulled up a few blocks away from the boarding house, Caroline beside him staring out of the window, her fingers twisting in her lap.

"All right, love?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "I think so."

Caroline had asked her friends to meet her at the boarding house, and she was going to tell them about the bond. The Bennett witch was coming for emotional support, or some such nonsense, and had been sitting silently in the back seat of the car for the whole drive.

Klaus knew that Bonnie hated him, but she seemed to have Caroline's best interests at heart, which was all that was required to be relatively civil, really.

He wasn't sure what to say to make Caroline feel better about the upcoming conversation, since his honest thoughts were along the lines of "they're all idiots and their corpses would make excellent mulch for our garden", but he felt that that sentiment would be received poorly.

She unbuckled her seatbelt, and he proceeded to do the same, ignoring her exasperated glare.

"You can't come in with us," Caroline said firmly.

"Why not?"

"It'll make it worse," Bonnie said, and Caroline gave her friend a sharp look before turning back to him.

"She's right. They won't react well with you standing there giving them all murder-eyes."

He pressed his lips together. "What if they try to hurt you?"

She rolled her eyes. "They're my friends. They won't."

"And if they do, I'm, you know, _magical,"_ Bonnie said, wriggling her fingers, and Klaus had to restrain a snort of derision.

He, quite honestly, did not share their confidence, either in Bonnie's powers or her friends' rationality. However, he could see the set to Caroline's jaw that indicated she'd only dig her heels in further if he disagreed.

"All right, but I will be right outside, able to hear all of it. If I believe that you're in even the smallest amount of trouble, I will come in."

"Fine," Caroline agreed. "As long as they don't know you're there."

"Done," he said, nodding, and she kissed him softly (ignoring Bonnie's sound of disgust) before pulling away and walking up the driveway.

He sped silently to the side of the house, holding perfectly still, knowing they wouldn't hear him as long as he was careful, waiting for the small talk to be over and the conversation to start.

He could hear the waver in Caroline's voice as she explained the situation, could hear every hitch of her breath as she paused between sentences. It made him want to kill all of her so-called friends before whisking her as far away as possible.

He didn't, though. He lingered silently as her friends fought to talk over each other to contribute _their_ thoughts, feelings, and opinions about Caroline's personal life, as though _they_ had a right to tell his _mate_ who she had _permission_ to give her heart to.

He closed his eyes as Caroline snapped for everyone to be quiet, telling them to all go one at a time, as though a great tragedy had occurred and they needed a healing circle.

He listened to the ripper prattle on about personal choice and inner darkness and how Caroline was a _victim,_ and it honestly made him sick. Stefan seemed to be making Caroline's bond about him, about how _Stefan_ was so disappointed, and how he _knew_ what she was going through, how _he'd_ been Klaus's victim too...As though Caroline could simply shrug off the bond like an inconvenient temporary chore and move on if only she knew how awful he was.

The doppelganger only managed a sentence or two about how Caroline had kept things from her and how her _feelings were hurt,_ and Caroline cut in to say they'd talk while they got ready for the decade dance.

The elder Salvatore made a lewd comment about a wolf fetish, but his yell of pain and Bonnie's completely unapologetic-sounding apology indicated an aneurism was given. The quarterback's opinion was irrelevant, as usual.

"Did this happen...Did you know this when we were together?" he heard Tyler ask, his voice tinged with fury, and Klaus tried to resist the urge to rip the mutt's heart out of his chest.

He could imagine Caroline's face, its mix of guilt and stubbornness familiar to him, and he wasn't surprised at her answer.

"I thought I could stop it," she said quietly. "I couldn't though, and I broke up with you once I realized it was a lost cause."

"Oh, well _thanks_ Caroline. Thanks for doing me that favor," Tyler snarled, and he heard Caroline's breath hitch.

"I'm sorry that you feel betrayed," Caroline said slowly. "But I'm not sorry for wanting what's best for me. Wanting him."

Klaus smirked to himself as he heard the door slam and watched his first hybrid race away through the trees.

It felt good to be chosen.

 **XXX**

Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie had agreed to get ready for the 20s dance together that night. Caroline was nervous about Elena's reaction once they were in a more private space. In an (admittedly slightly cowardly) effort to put off the inevitable serious conversation, Caroline had offered to invite Rebekah along, but the other girl had pointed out that it might be best to mend her current friendships before tossing her in the snake pit with her, and Caroline saw her point.

They'd been making awkward small talk for almost an hour by the time Caroline had decided she'd had enough, and she interrupted Elena mid-sentence.

"This really isn't my fault."

Elena paused, her brown eyes wide, before she swallowed and nodded. "I know. I just...it's a lot."

"Yeah, it was a lot for me too at first," Caroline said. "Unfortunately, if Klaus isn't in my life, we both go insane. Since you are my friend, I'm going to assume that you would prefer me sane, so we need to find a way to deal with this where you're able to cope with Klaus being in my life. We're now a package deal, Elena, and if you can't handle that, you should tell me now."

"We can find a way to break the bond," Elena said immediately. "Esther said she could, right?"

"I don't want to break it," Caroline said. "If something goes wrong, it would be a huge disaster."

 _And I'm almost on the way to falling in love with him._

Elena was clearly about to argue, but Bonnie interrupted before the other girl could get the words out.

"Elena, shut up."

"What?"

"Shut up. What Caroline does is her choice. You don't get a say in what she does with her body or her soul or whatever. She's had to deal with Damon being around for a year, and other than pointing out what an ass he is, and he _is_ an ass, she's never complained, despite the fact that she would have a complete right to. If you expect her to support your dumb life choices, which includes making excuses for Damon, you should be able to cope with hers," Bonnie said firmly, and Caroline swallowed, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

Bonnie had agreed not to say anything the first time Caroline had called her at two in the morning, begging her to come over. There had been months of nightmares of cold blue eyes and sharp fangs, times when Caroline woke up half-convinced she wouldn't be able to control her own limbs.

The other girl had never complained about the occasional all-nighters when she'd had a bad dream, or when Caroline asked her to come over when her mom had a night shift.

They'd had a few conversations about Damon, both as Elena's potential boyfriend and as Caroline's abuser, and it hadn't taken long for Bonnie to start hinting that Caroline should talk to Elena about it.

Clearly, Bonnie had had enough of Caroline's reluctance to stand up for herself, and Caroline wasn't sure she could complain as Bonnie stared Elena down.

Elena deflated, clearly realizing what Bonnie was implying, and shot Caroline a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't think about it like that."

"It's fine," Caroline bit out, not wanting to spoil the olive branch Elena had offered.

Of course Elena hadn't 'thought of it like that'.

"No, it's not," Bonnie said, shooting Caroline a look that essentially told her to be quiet while she ripped into Elena. "We've both been terrible to you about it, and you didn't deserve it. So, from now on, I think we should be a bit more understanding, especially since you've been supportive of both of us. _Right Elena_?"

"Right," Elena said, nodding. "Sorry."

Caroline shrugged, not wanting to tease out all of her emotions about what had happened with Damon or how Elena had treated her just then. She knew they'd talk about it eventually, but she felt like right before the dance wasn't a great time. She didn't want to go into the dance angry, because Klaus would ask what was wrong, and then Damon would be _dead_ , and while it would be nice in theory, Caroline also didn't really want to deal with the consequences of it. She might change her mind at some point, especially if Elena managed to get her act together and choose Stefan (or just anyone who wasn't Damon).

For now though, she could wait.

 **XXX**

"This is quite the dance," Klaus said quietly, his hand splayed on her hip as he swayed back and forth with her to the music. "I especially enjoy the theme."

Caroline scoffed. "Well, your sister was very persuasive about changing it, unfortunately. She let me borrow one of her dresses though, so I guess I can't complain that much."

"You look radiant," he said, his eyes locked on hers.

"Thanks."

They swayed together, Caroline trying to ignore Tyler's burning glare digging into her back.

"You would have loved the twenties, Caroline. The girls were reckless, sexy, fun...They literally used to dance until they dropped."

"Do you think I could keep up with them?" she asked teasingly, fighting down a smile as he spun her around, catching her again as she fell against his chest.

"More than."

She rolled her eyes at his charming words, the way the compliment rolled off his tongue so easily, and he grinned, teeth gleaming in the gym's fluorescent light.

"I still kind of can't believe you've lived through stuff like that," she said quietly. "You must have so many cool stories."

He nodded, but didn't answer, and they danced for another few moments in silence before he spoke again. "Do you want to leave?"

"Leave where?"

"Mystic Falls," he said quietly. "There's a whole world out there. Art, music, culture...I want to show it to you. Will you come with me?"

She bit her lip, debating. "Would you stay here if I wanted to?"

"I'd rather not, but we have eternity to see the world, and if you'd like to stay in this one-pony town for a while longer...I'm not going to drag you kicking and screaming."

"I'll make you a deal."

"I'm listening."

"We'll stay until I graduate in a few months, and after that, you take me on the best world exploration vacation ever."

"It would be a pleasure."

Caroline smiled.

She had known from the moment she woke up in the hospital bed that nothing would be normal again. The past few months had been her acclimating to her new circumstances, accepting that she was a monster, and that she _liked_ it. She'd abstractly thought about what it would be like to live forever, but she'd never quite let the reality of it sink in.

She'd had a dark voice in the back of her mind insist that she'd probably be dead for good within the next few years if she stayed in Mystic Falls.

After the past few weeks, though, she'd realized that forever wasn't such an abstract idea. Her vampirism had opened up the world to her, had given her possibilities she'd never dreamed of, but with Klaus she felt like those possibilities could be a reality.

He did not define her, but for the first time, she truly felt that she could define herself. Make her own choices. Change her life.

She had that power within her grasp. All she had to do was reach out and take it.

* * *

Thank you so much for your support of this story. I really really appreciate it, and I'm happy you all seem to be enjoying it so much. :)

The next chapter is the epilogue, and then hopefully I'll get back to working on some of my bigger projects ;)

Hugs!  
-Angie


	11. The Departed (Epilogue)

Thank you so much for your patience! Here's the epilogue. Even though it does not begin that way, I promise you that it's a happy ending, and the angst is brief. I hope you enjoy it! :D

Thank you to justanotherfiveminutes for beta work!

* * *

 ** _Two years later..._**

"I'm leaving."

"What?" Klaus asked, his voice choked as his breath caught in his throat.

"I'm leaving," Caroline spat out, and he watched with disbelief as she stuffed some dresses and underthings into a suitcase, followed by her laptop and a pair of shoes. It was a small comfort to see that she wasn't packing much, and even though he knew logically that she had to come back, it still made his stomach twist to see her yank her chargers out of the outlet by their bed with a snarl, her hair brush and curler following.

"Caroline," Klaus started, his voice low and thick with warning, and she just knelt to zip up her suitcase, her mouth pressed in a firm line.

"Don't," she said, and he sighed moving towards her, reaching out to touch her shoulder, but she jerked away. "Don't fucking touch me. I am angry, and I have a right to be, and I'm going to stay that way until I decide not to be, so your stupid soulmate comfort touch is currently a no-go. Got it?"

"Fine," he growled, dropping his hand back to his side, knowing his eyes were gold with fury, feeling his veins creeping down his face. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business."

"It's completely my business," he snapped. "I need you to be safe, and-"

"Trying to keep me safe is what got us into this situation, Klaus."

"Your safety is important to me, Caroline," he said through gritted teeth, and she scoffed.

"I know. It's pretty clear from how you have a giant fleet of people following me everywhere. How am I supposed to make friends when they glare at anyone who comes within five feet of me?"

He didn't really have a response to that. He'd promised that he wouldn't interfere in her college experience, but he couldn't help but be a bit protective, couldn't help but worry for her. In his personal opinion, a hybrid bodyguard in each of her classes was a small price to pay. She'd even convinced him to pay the tuition of the hybrids he'd turned to give them 'opportunities', insisting that they should at least get to go to college if he was making them take classes with her.

However, she didn't seem to understand that he hadn't told them to be threatening, they simply saw protecting the woman who they considered to be the Alpha Female as a goal of the utmost importance.

He'd gone into this relationship knowing that it was only a matter of time until they fought, and he was surprised it had taken this long. Caroline was only nineteen, she was so very young, and though he considered his stipulations regarding her safety to be reasonable, he knew that she often did not. Still, that didn't change that she wanted to have college friends and go to parties and have a _life_. He understood that it was difficult, that she occasionally resented him for being so insistent about some of the measures to ensure her safety that she considered inconvenient, but he'd thought they compromised quite well.

Clearly not.

"Caroline..."

"I'll be back in three days," she said coldly, picking up her suitcase. "I'm going to get a hotel room at the Marriott on the other side of town. Don't bother me. I need space."

"And you'll come back here in three days? You don't need me to come collect you?"

"I think I can get across town on my own, Klaus," she said, her eyes flicking up to make contact with his for the first time since she'd started talking, and her expression softened, her hand jerking slightly as though she wanted to reach for him, and when she spoke again her tone was quiet, eyes wide and imploring. "I'm not leaving you, okay? I just need some time to myself without you or your stupid minions breathing down my neck. I love you, and this fight isn't going to change that."

"Beg pardon?" he choked out, his voice strangled, and Caroline's mind seemed to catch up with her mouth judging by the way her eyes widened. She swallowed, her tongue darting over her dry lips to wet them, and she shook her head.

"I...We'll talk about it later," she said quickly.

He restrained his instinctive response of 'But I want to talk about it _now_ ,' instead nodding jerkily, his jaw clenched, remaining silent as she wrapped her hand around the handle of his suitcase and practically sprinted out of the door.

He flopped back on the bed, rubbing his eyes with his palms and letting out a sharp breath.

She loved him.

What was he supposed to say to that?

Well, he knew that he was supposed to say that he loved her too, but he wasn't sure that he did. At least, not in the way she thought of 'love'. He enjoyed spending time with her, thought that she was brilliant and beautiful and compassionate and _light_ , and he was pleased that she'd decided not to even look into freeing herself from the mate bond. It meant she'd seen _him_ underneath the superficial layers, that she'd _liked_ what she'd seen. If she'd put her mind to it, she could have found a way to break it somehow, and they both knew that, but she hadn't. She'd _chosen_ him.

Every time he touched her, he felt like the world had shifted to become brighter, like everything had suddenly made more sense. When she smiled at him it was the most euphoric feeling he'd ever experienced, the warmth of her filling him, making him _whole_.

And yet...

He didn't have the best track record with love. With caring. His siblings would be the first to tell anyone that his love corrupted, _poisoned_. It was a malignant curse of possessiveness and fear that wrapped around them like binds and held them in place. He almost didn't want to love her because he didn't want to _ruin_ her.

What if he went too far? Held her down with so much force that she lost her sense of self, her vibrant spirit and warmth?

It terrified him.

However, the bond would hold them together, and he was determined to ensure that she wanted it to stay. He'd been trying to be better, but he knew that he could never be good, and he suspected that deep down she knew it too. He wondered if it bothered her that he wouldn't change. Would she still be with him if it didn't? Was she hoping that if she just hung on for long enough he would soften?

Did love mean that he had to remold himself into a man who deserved her? Was she in love with who he was or the man she hoped he'd grow into? Would she be disappointed when he didn't make that transformation?

He loved her stubbornness, her confidence, her vehemence in what she believed was right, and perhaps she was a bit idealistic and insecure, but he'd never want to see her change. He could spend hours watching the subtle movements of her face as she watched movies or listening to her talk. He loved the fire in her eyes, the sound of her laugh, and the little twitch of her lips when she was fighting down a smile. He wanted her to be with him, to choose him while still knowing all of his faults, just as he knew hers.

Was it that he didn't love her, or was it that he was afraid of admitting it?

She was a weakness, but he could never let her go, wouldn't be able to bear it. And yet, he realized, he had. If Rebekah had fought with him and packed a suitcase, she'd have had a dagger in her chest before she reached the front door. He knew Rebekah loved him, would always stand by him, and yet he wouldn't trust her to return. He couldn't dagger Caroline, but that didn't mean he didn't have ways to make her stay. Yet, he'd just watched her walk out the door, had believed her when she said she was coming back.

He trusted her enough to let her go. Was that love?

For him, it might be the closest he'd ever get.

Judging from the way she'd looked at him, how she'd practically fled, she was terrified of what he'd say. Did she think he didn't love her? Had she thought about it extensively? Worried that he was only with her for the bond? Did it keep her up at night? Was she insecure in his devotion to her?

He pushed himself out of bed, his mind racing too much to sit still, and began to prepare a canvas to paint. The familiar movements let him think, and by the time he loaded his paintbrush with the first color, he knew what he had to do, had a plan hatching in his mind.

After Caroline had graduated, she'd told him that she wanted to postpone the trip around the world so that she could go to college with her friends. Elena and Bonnie were both quite mortal, and he'd understood her need to spend more time with them. The three of them had somehow managed to maintain an impeccable grade point average even through all of the supernatural ridiculousness, and though Caroline forbade him from compelling them acceptance letters, he pulled a few strings just in case.

Now, they were all living in New York City. Bonnie and Elena shared a large apartment on the other side of town. Over the years, Klaus acquired a number of properties in most of the large cities, all of which were run for him by people who lived there, and a large cut of the profits funneled up to him. Caroline nudged Klaus into giving Bonnie and Elena a place in one of his apartment complexes, hoping that it would make them warm up to him.

It hadn't, at least for the doppelganger, but Bonnie was slowly coming around (though he suspected it had more to do with Caroline's happiness than with him). He and Caroline lived in a penthouse that overlooked the city, and he loved watching her stand by the window with large, fascinated eyes as she watched the people below.

It was nearing the summer after her first year of college, and he wanted to take her away for a few months and spend some time with her that wasn't filled with constant distractions, and he had what he thought was the perfect idea.

For the three days she was gone, he distracted himself from the absence of her touch by making arrangements, and when he finally heard the key turn in the lock, he sped to the living room before her foot even crossed the threshold.

She gave him a shy smile and walked over, practically launching herself into his arms, and he pulled her to him, stroking her hair and feeling all of the nerves melt away. "I'm sorry," he muttered awkwardly, and she must have known that it was probably the best apology she'd get, pulling away and standing on her toes to give him a quick kiss.

"It's okay," she said, laying a hand on his arm. "I think we just need to talk about it a bit and see if we can come up with something that makes you less freaked out while keeping me from wanting to strangle you."

"Sounds perfect, love," he said, trying not to sound too amused, and she gave him the bright smile that he'd missed an absurd amount considering the short time they'd been apart.

She took a deep breath, her teeth worrying her lower lip for a moment, and she made eye contact for a few seconds, pulling him in before she spoke. "I love you."

He'd been expecting it, but the amount of intimacy and feeling in her words made him want to shrug away. He held himself in place though, letting his hand cup her cheek as he bent to kiss her softly. "I...I believe that I'm in love with you as well."

"I'm glad we're on the same page," she said with a smile, standing on her toes to pull him into another kiss, her hands clutching at the fabric of his henley. He responded immediately, letting his palms fall on her hips, and she pulled back slowly.

He looked at her for a few seconds, the blue of her eyes clear and bright, full of warmth and affection, and it took a moment to pull himself back to the present and remember what he was going to say. "I was thinking that we could go somewhere this summer once you're out of school."

A small frown crossed her face before she nodded hesitantly. "Okay. Like where?"

He gestured to the notebook on the coffee table. "Well, I've made a few lists. There's one of places I think you'd like for shopping and sightseeing, and one of places that I've been in case you were more interested in the historical aspect. I also made a few sample itineraries that would be the most efficient way to see as much as possible before you had to come back. We could do a combination of both if you'd like, and I'm happy to let you choose if you'd like to do something different, but-"

"You made a list?" she asked slowly. "Two? And an itinerary?"

"Yes...?" he half asked. "You seem to respond well to actual plans rather than ambiguous discussion, so-"

"It's super obvious that you've never been in an actual relationship before, but that's really cute."

He wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not, since 'cute' wasn't a word he'd ever use to describe himself, and the first part didn't seem all that charitable, but before he could say anything she'd already pecked him on the cheek and picked up the notebook, sinking down on the couch. He watched her as she went through it, a smile growing on her face as she moved her finger down the lists, settling into a different sitting position to get comfortable.

He sat down beside her, and she moved to nestle against his side without hesitation, her body fitting with his perfectly. "I like the idea of a trip around Europe," she said slowly, producing a pen from what seemed like thin air and putting stars next to various bullet points. "I'd like to spend more than a few days at every place, though. Maybe just France? My French is okay, but I want to get better at it, since there's a foreign language requirement that I'd really rather test out of."

"I'm not sure a vacation will help with that."

"We can do that thing where we only speak the foreign language the entire time."

Klaus stared at her for a moment trying to figure out if she was serious. "That seems like an excellent way to make you hate me very, very much in a short space of time."

She smirked, shifting to sit up on her knees next to him, and he liked the predatory gleam in her eye as she leaned over him, her hand resting on his thigh for balance. "I'm sure we'll find a non-verbal way to relieve our stress," she said teasingly.

He wasn't sure he agreed, but was completely content to talk about it later. They had both been starved of each other's touch for days, and now that she seemed receptive, all he wanted to do was take her against every surface in every room until she was too tired to leave the bed, vampire stamina or not.

He did, and later, as she writhed beneath him for the fifteenth time that night, her body sticky with their mingled release, eyes closed and face flushed with pleasure, he bent to whisper the words he'd been so afraid of in her ear, somehow unsurprised by how true they felt falling off his tongue.

"I love you, Caroline."

* * *

Please let me know what you thought. Did you like the ending? Did you think it was IC? Favorite part? Please let me know! :D

You can find me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie. Feel free to drop in asks and chat!

Thanks for reading!

~ Angie


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